Supplies of mangos in the United States are currently light, and that's made for high prices for fruit coming from Central America. But supplies are expected to increase next month, when both Guatemala and Mexico ramp up production.
Imports from Mexico have been unseasonably low this month, and it's expected that will be the case for the rest of March. For the week ending on March 19, 1.2 million boxes arrived from Mexico, making it 4.8 million boxes for the season. That's off from the numbers for the same week in 2015, when 1.5 million boxes came in that week and 5.9 million boxes had come in for the season.
“Not a lot of importers have mangos right now, and the bigger importers have most of their fruit committed for contracts, so there's not much to go around for the wholesale market,” said Luis Orrantia of Tropica Specialists in Miami, Florida. “There's very little product available, so prices are high.”
On March 24, prices for a flat of Tommy Atkins 7s from Guatemala and Nicaragua were between $11.00 and $13.00 at South Florida ports of entry, and prices for a flat of Ataulfo 12s from Mexico were between $9.00 and $12.00. But those prices could come down as Mexican production ramps up.
“I'm hearing from a lot of importers that there will be big supplies in April,” said Orrantia. “I think there will be a lot of fruit available in April because that's when Mexico and Guatemala will have a lot of fruit.”
