Mango imports by the U.S. have suffered as Peru, a primary supplier, has had a major drop in volume. Peru will conclude the 2023-24 season with a 73% decline in exported volume, leading to a 27% drop year-on-year for U.S. mango imports of all origins.
The National Mango Board revealed March 8 Peru shipped approximately 161,402 boxes (8.8lbs each) of mangos during week 9. That is nearly half of the 301,928 boxes Peru shipped the same week last year.
The drop in volume from Peru this season was caused by the El Niño phenomenon, which brought elevated temperatures adversely affecting the flowering of mango trees. This led to prices in the U.S. market to reach unprecedented levels this season.
On the other hand, the Mexican season, which starts later than Peru, is providing stable volumes to the United States. Total shipments from Mexico, expected to last through April, are projected to be 1% higher than last year.
On week 9, Mexico shipped approximately 1.6 million boxes, bringing the total to 5.4 million boxes for the season so far.
Mexican shipments started to ramp up in February.
In February, Continental Fresh of Miami, FL reported they were experiencing the peak of the mango crisis, and they had not expected the drop in volume to be so drastic.
However, the company noted the Mexican season meant positive developments coming soon.
Promotional volume from Mexico is anticipated to arrive by April, providing optimism that the industry could mitigate the effects of the current shortage.
Brazil was able to cover some of the shortage this season, with volumes up 31% year-on-year.
As the season progresses, with Peru, Mexico and Guatemala supplying the market, projections indicate that by week 18, all three sources will export have exported 39,343,728 boxes to the U.S., down from the 56,224,325 shipped in 2022-23.