Farm, Featured

Copious Mexican Fruit (Coming Soon)

March 7, 2019

All Region Season Predictions are In

 It’s a funny (funny weird, not funny ha ha) time to report on copious amounts of  mangoes.  Supply on the round mangoes has taken an abrupt turn this week as Peru’s volume of Kents finally came to a halt  and as Mexican Tommy Atkins are still just drizzling out of the orchards. Shortage is the main talk of the mango town. ………BUT.

There is plenty of good news, including the positive predictions – just in- for Nayarit and Sinaloa regions as well as promotable amounts of beautiful, intensely flavored Ataulfos, available NOW.

The current market frenzy happening, to be fair, could have been a lot worse, as I, and others reported a few weeks ago. This shortage was nothing we didn’t know was coming.  It’s true the timing of the shortage was off, but I think the mathematicians among us know it was the plummet in demand that was the variable. And more importantly that demand drop was due to unseasonably cold, rainy snowy and relentless weather the entire country experienced….. and still is. This drop-in demand prolonged the Peruvian supply. Peru’s high quality ending also surprised many in the end.  The 4-5-week predicted shortage is thus only a 2-3-week shortage. We can manage through that!

We will all certainly struggle to get markets what they “need” over the next few weeks and of course the opportunists of us, will see the Ataulfo as the great asset of this moment.  Ataulfos are now coming in consistently in terms of volume and quality,  flavor has been exceptional. Pricing opportunities are ample in most sizes and they are one of the most popular varietals among the bourgeoning organic markets and educated consumers.  There is plenty of marketing help too. Ataulfo Marketing 101.   I can even help you pronounce it- or I’ll have a kid do that – Chef Svea.

There is more good news – the massive industry fear that growers we going to squeeze everyone (the middle man) isn’t happening. Prices are high, but reasonable and the goal is for everyone to keep moving forward and get through the next few weeks because…….

 

 

VOLUMES ARE COMING.

According to (Crespo Organic/RCF/Empaque Don Jorge)  Jose Angel Crespo, Oaxaca and Chiapas should jump up in volume around the 22cnd of March – don’t get so excited about that date- remember it’s a 4-5 day drive from  the south  of Mexico to the border–so think more like 27th/28th for larger volumes arriving into the USA. Hold on, slow down…….remember filling an empty or basically barren pipeline doesn’t happen overnight.  April- the first week of April , is when we should be in the clear to promote volume. And volumes are exactly what we predict for the entire season, once we hit April. Jose Angel expects fruit to come from the southern regions through the end of May.

 

Roberto Crespo (Empaque Don Jorge) predicts Nayarit will begin harvesting around the first of May and Sinaloa in mid-June.  He also predicts a lot of fruit, beautiful, big fruit. Flowers in Nayarit have formed into fruit and are growing bigger. Sinaloa fruit formation is happening as well and all indications point to copious amounts of fruit, on the larger size from April through September. That means 5-6 months of promotable fruit; Ataulfos and round mangoes.

The weather has been rather perfect for mangoes and the flavor has been seriously exceptional. The first of the fruit is often never as tasty as the fruit after it gets going, but not only did the Ataulfos come out of the season at peak flavor but the Tommy Atkins are pleasantly surprising us all with incredible depth of flavor.  All fruit has incredibly high brix and simultaneously lots of variable taste characteristics and balance flavoring to the sweet notes. The blush tones are also off the hook this season and we are seeing some of the most colorful Tommies to come out of the orchards in a while. Ripening phase timing is also advantageous- not too fast and too slow.

So, don’t fret, a couple of weeks in produce moves quick and soon mangoes will be the King of Fruits again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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