Just like it happened in the past for products like bananas, nowadays exotic fruit like mangos, avocados and passion fruit are becomming increasingly popular with consumers. "Not all retailers sell exotic fruit, but it has become easier to find it. People are increasingly interested in this type of product," explains a wholesaler from Bologna.
"Top-of-the-range stores prefer fruit that is imported via air, which is more expensive but also fresher. The more traditional shops opt instead for goods imported via sea. It has become difficult to find a specialised shop that does not have an avocado crate, as they have become very popular, followed by mangos."
Let us try and understand what the situation is like on the market by starting with avocados, whose prices are on the up. "It is the exotic product that is creating the most problems because usually Israeli and African productions overlap during this period, but it is not happening." The season has just finished in Israel, while that from Kenya is just starting, so there is a lack of produce on the market.
"At the moment, avocados from South America - Chile and Peru in particular - are also available, but it is quite a special and delicate cultivar that is affected by the heat, thus deterring sales. Not much product is available, so prices are high. If usually we talk about €2.5/kg or even €2/kg, we are now talking about €4/kg."
The situation is rather similar for mangos, though there is a distinction to be made between those imported via air and those imported via sea. The former are fresh and harvested ten days before arriving in Italy. "Very little produce is arriving from South America, because everything slows down over there during the Easter period. Prices have been affected and now reach €7/kg while they used to be around €5/kg ten days ago." Volumes seem to be increasing now, meaning prices will go down.
Lower volumes have also been recorded for mangos imported via sea (ships from Brazil take 4 weeks to get to Italy), but prices haven't risen as much. "Prices hover around €2/kg and we will have to wait until next week to see if there are any changes."
For what concerns passion fruit, "it is increasingly popular to make various cocktails and dishes and everybody knows it now. At the moment, it comes mainly from Colombia, but a few volumes also come from South Africa, Mozambique and Kenya. Quantities are normal though prices have increased a bit - it could be due to the exchange rate of the Dollar or to a less abundant production. They hover around €7-7.50/kg. Prices of this fruit are quite constant throughout the year and never drop below €6/kg."
