The mango supply to Europe is currently struggling. "The market's good, but that has more to do with the low volumes arriving. That low supply means demand is quite good, with high prices," begins Ive Lambert of Starfruit in Belgium.
"That's mainly because Spain stopped earlier than expected. Plus, the supply from Brazil, which is supposed to be Europe's main supplier now, is being delayed by weather conditions and the elections. So, they sent significantly less than usual." Ive says it remains to be seen if this situation remains unchanged.
"Peru's already starting to load limited quantities of mangoes this week. That may increase volumes, but then you risk the situation completely reversing within four or five weeks. If Peru picks up and Brazil starts sending larger volumes, after all, there could very quickly be an oversupply. Fortunately, by then, we're heading towards Christmas, when demand usually rises," he explains.
Still, the market will remain quite volatile in the coming weeks. "Starting in January, exotics demand normally declines. If those high volumes persist, prices will plummet. Yet, I think suppliers, especially from South America, will be more cautious. With current freight rates of around $10,000, you're at $2 freight per box of mangoes. That leaves you with nothing if you sell those in Europe for €3 or €4. In the current market, you can get €7, so you can afford that extra $2."
Tough avocado market, changing passion fruit market
The avocado market, too, remains problematic. "There will be fewer larger sizes until the end of the year. South Africa and Peru are on their way out. Chile generally has some smaller fruit, and Morocco is just starting up. So, large avocadoes are scarce, leading to vast differences between the sizes. There's a surplus of and low prices for the small sizes, but since larger avocados are the common retail sizes, these are in high demand, so their prices climb," Ive continues.
In contrast, passion fruit has been cheap for a long time, he says. "We, however, expect that to change. There are freight rate problems there too. At these prices, growers, thus, no longer find it interesting to ship these products to Europe. Volumes are, therefore, increasingly falling while demand rises as the holidays approach. Though no one knows for sure what will happen, with these prices, it can only turn out positively."
Starfruit has also restarted with South African lychees. "There's a genuinely excellent demand for this rather pricey product. It's become more and more established in recent years because lychees from South Africa are of far better quality than the tree wholesale from Madagascar. Here, people still prefer quality over price," remarks the trader.
Trade at Starfruit is, nevertheless, generally not hectic. "Early November traditionally isn't too busy for exotics, but these high energy prices are depressing that trade even more. Food will always sell, but people only have so much money to spend. If they have to use that to pay their power bill, they're more likely to skip buying more expensive exotics."
"We're, therefore, keen to see what the holidays hold. 'Common' exotics like avocados and mangoes will continue to sell, but it will be challenging for the more expensive things. We used to still regularly sell Mangosteen and Rambutan, but expect substantially less demand for these this year," Ive concludes.
