Mangoes from Mexico, as well as grapes from California are expected to provide excellent volume shipments this year.
Imported Mexican mangoes by U.S. importers got off to an early season start this year and is expected to follow the normal volume increases associated with spring.
Between 3 and 4 million boxes of Mexican mangoes have been crossing the border during April.
Another season of record-breaking volume with peak supplies from southern Mexico that started this month is expected to continue into mid-May as the harvest shifts to more northern regions, such as Nayarit and Sinaloa, from mid-June through August.
Importers such as Ciruli Bros, LLC of Rio Rico, AZ and Jade Produce LLC of Mission, TX have been experiencing excellent volume mango shipments to U.S. markets.
Imported Mexican mango shipments from late March to the week of May 14 should be 16 percent higher than last year, with 49 million boxes in 2018 compared to 42 million boxes a year ago.
Besides Mexico, there also are imported mangoes from Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Haiti during the spring. The Peruvian season finished in early April, and the Costa Rican season end the last half of April.
The Mexican season started in January and runs until October. The Nicaraguan season got underway in mid-March and ran until the last week of April. The Guatemalan season was launched in March and should run through the end of May. The Haitian season started the third week of April and will run until September.
California Grapes
Since the 2012 California grape shipments have exceeded 100 million boxes each season and 2018 is expected to be no different. In fact, 100 million – plus boxes is almost taken for granted these days.
California grape shipments totaled 109.1 million boxes during the 2017 season, which runs from May through January. In 2016, the industry shipped 110 million boxed of table grapes.
California typically begins with grapes from the Coachella Valley in early May, before transitioning to the Arvin area of Bakersfield in early June, with the remainder of the season involving much of the San Joaquin Valley.