Despite being relatively new to the market, Poland has been named one of the 25 fastest growing mango importers in the world by research website worldsrichestcountries.com. Europe imported $932.6 million worth of mangoes in 2014, with Polish imports up 273.5% with $13 million.
The Polish mango supply comes primarily from Pakistan and South America, and can be found in all major supermarkets. However, according to Mohamed Marawan, from Mazafruit, despite mangoes being readily available, it is still difficult to find buyers due to the lack of knowledge from consumers about the product.
Marawan plans on bringing the Egyptian mango to the market next season and believes that it will be a hit with Polish consumers due to it being sweeter than mangoes from other countries.
"It can be challenging selling mangoes in Poland because they are exotics and expensive. Egyptian mangoes in particular will need to be brought over by air which will make them slightly more expensive. South American mangoes can be hard and unripe because they are picked earlier than their Egyptian counterparts. Egyptian growers let their mangoes ripen on the tree which means that they are ready to eat as soon as they hit the shelves." said Marawan.
"It is important that we only bring smaller quantities over when importing from Egypt because they need to be sold directly. Mangoes from South America or Mexico have a shelf life of 7-10 days whereas you have a maximum of 3 days for mangoes from Egypt."
