After a good if slightly late start the stonefruit season is turning into a nightmare for Australian grower and exporter Sai World.
“It has been too cold and we have had lots of rain, which has destroyed the cherries on the trees and delayed the ripening of the fruit,” explains Sam Vasala senior partner at the Sai World.
“We have had it all rain, hail, cold and not a lot of sunshine. I don’t see it getting better for at least a couple of weeks. We have had to cancel pre-booked flights because we don’t have the fruit. Prices have also plummeted for mangoes in the Asian markets too as they are over supplied.”
On a brighter note, Sam is seeing a huge demand for Alphonso mangoes which are grown in Malawi. “They are counter season to the Indian mangoes and there is good demand in India where we have been shipping them for the last 4 years. We shipped some into the UK last year and this year into Canada for the first time. These mangoes have a very distinct taste and are sought after by the sub-continental populations in the UK, Canada and USA.”
According to Sam this is a very difficult mango to grow outside India, in fact even within India there are only two regions where you get the distinct taste due to the growing conditions.
The production area in Malawi is 51 hectares and Sam said it will remain niche as one year production can be good and the next year it can be bad. “It’s not a thing we will make a lot of money at but it is very popular. We shipped 20 pallets to India and 7 to the UK and they sold out immediately.”
