The general manager of the Peruvian Association of Mango Producers and Exporters (APEM), Juan Carlos Rivera Ortega, stated that Peru would ship between 5,200 and 5,300 twenty three-ton containers of fresh mango in the 2015/2016 season, i.e. 26% more than the 4,200 containers they shipped in the previous season (2014/2015).
"The mango season in Piura and Lambayeque has practically come to an end. The little fruit being harvested is in Casma (Ancash) and it is being processed in packaging plants to send it to the United States and South Korea," he said.
He stressed that the mango harvests had started before planned because of the rains caused by El Niño and that they expected they had thought the campaign would also come to an end before time for the same reason; however, as they had high yields, the campaign will only come to an end by the middle of this month.
Juan Carlos Rivera said the main destination of Peru's fresh mango exports was Europe, where they sent 60% of their production, followed by the United States, with 33%. The remaining 7% is sent to Chile, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, among others.
Results up to week eight
The representative of APEM said that Peru had exported 5,063 containers of fresh mangoes (116,449 tons) by the end of week 8 (February 21), 29% more than the 3,920 containers (90,160 tons) shipped by the same date in the previous season.
He also noted that 98% of the total fresh mango shipped was of the Kent variety and that the remaining two percent was of the Edward, Haden, Ataulfo and Tommy Atkins variety.
