This year's Peruvian mango production began auspiciously and, so far, volumes have increased by more than 20%. This increase was at first welcomed by producers and importers but, with the passage of weeks, it has led to a saturated and complicated market for exports.
"The excess in production is saturating packing plants that have no quota for all producers. Many producers have to sell a percentage of their fruit in the domestic market, even though it is less profitable. Additionally, since there is so much fruit available, prices have strongly depreciated in recent weeks and we believe that the situation will not improve in the next few weeks," stated Giancarlo Niño, of Piura Agro Export.
"This overproduction is resulting in an unstable market, making it difficult to comply with the agreements we have, as the packing plants don't have the capacity of handling all the fruit we are producing. Additionally, the grape is also in season and, since it is a fruit with a high turnover, some balers prefer to work with it," he said.
As a result, many farmers are opting to enter and strengthen contacts in markets, such as Asia and Europe. Up until November, shipments to the Asian continent increased by 628%, which could be a response to the sector's situation. According to the producer, there will be fruit available until the end of February and, since there are still a couple of months of the campaign left, this percentage could increase more.
