At the moment there is a good supply of mangos. Compared to last year the December supply is slightly lower. "We are getting the varieties Kent, Palmer and Tommy Atkins in at the moment. The Kent supply is coming to an end. Palmer has limited availability due to rain in the area around Sao Paolo and domestic demand. The supply of Tommy Atkins will rise over the next few weeks," believes Bert Westera of Sweet Fruits S.A., part of the Brazilian Secchi Agricola group with locations in Portugal and the Netherlands.
"The supply in recent weeks has been large and sales of the smaller sizes was particularly difficult. Due to the warm weather in Brazil there was quite a lot of small fruit arriving. The market has been good over the last few weeks, and apart from a few small sizes the sales have been correct. The demand was from all corners of Europe. The price level has been low for a week or two. There is no specific Christmas demand," says Bert.
When asked what the trends are as far as the varieties are concerned, Bert responds: "We see that in the north the Kent is still the most popular mango, but we are seeing a change in our customer circle - partially due to our input - and that the Palmer is gaining popularity. The Palmer is available to us all year round, compared to a Kent (and Keitt), which we only really have for three or four months a year. The advantage of this is that a customer doesn't have a 'shop' for different origins, resulting in a chance of uncertain supplies."
"We are looking back at a good mango year. We had a considerable dip in June, but recovered from it well," says Bert. He looks at the future of Sweet Fruits positively. "We are able to convince more and more people of the unique concept of the tree ripened Palmer. A mango that is available all year round with a consistent high quality, very good flavour and very attractively priced."
