"We expected a much greater production than it looks like we'll finally harvest but sizes will be larger," explains Juan de Dios Pérez, General Director of Pérez Zara Agrícola. The mango season is about to start for this company based in Cadiz and will be the first in its 30 year history after having started this year also with avocados.
The harvesting is going very slow at the moment, according to the exporter. "Some small farmers apart, it seems that larger operators have not yet started to harvest, and those are the ones who set the tone in this sector. It seems that the fruit has not yet reached a sufficient Brix level in most producing areas."
One of the reasons why some growers have started harvesting very prematurely this year is the very high prices at origin at the end of the last harvest. As the mango season is short, they are confident about getting a great profit. "This does not interest us, because we want to promote our brand with a good product. Every year is different and it is unlikely last year's prices will be reached."
According to Juan de Dios Pérez, the Vélez-Malaga area does not have abundant water, which is why more mangoes than avocados are being planted, given that they do not require too much water and yields are very high. He also notes that the production area in the Axarquía is gradually diversifying its production into other exotic fruits. "We are starting to see lychee and papaya fields," he affirms.
There is potential for ready-to-eat mangoes in Spain
"We will distribute our flagship brand IPM in European wholesale markets, where it has already received some appreciation, although we also want to work with supermarket chains in the future to be able to maintain high trading volumes," states Juan de Dios Pérez.
The Cadiz-based company has also created a second brand for the Spanish market: Inboca. "We want to supply the Spanish market with a product tailored to its specific needs, with more affordable prices and high quality; one that will also allow us to develop a Ready-to-eat line with calibres 18 and 20. Although it is true that the Ready-to-eat segment is growing rapidly in the rest of Europe, we believe there is potential in the main Spanish markets."
"Tropical products have a great future"
Perez Zara Agrícola has been working for 30 years in the production and marketing of citrus fruits, and although it still working with them, it has decided to go all out with tropical products. "We believe that mangoes and avocados have a great future, so much so, that the current demand for avocados currently exceeds the supply available," he points out.
In addition to collaborating with growers who supply the fruit to us, we have already acquired new farms to start our own production. The handling and packing of the mangoes is carried out in our own warehouse. For now, we have two packing lines for mangoes, avocados and citrus fruits, but we expect to expand in the coming years."
