Mango demand growing

Here is the link to today's USDA ERS Fruit and Tree Nut Outlook report. From the report, about mangoes:

The demand for mangoes in the United States continues to grow. Thanks to industry marketing programs, there is greater awareness now for this tropical fruit than 20 years back when U.S. consumers ate only an estimated a half a pound of mango per person each year. Now, annual per capita consumption is estimated at over two pounds per person, with heavy reliance on foreign imports (fig. 6). While more traditional American consumers are beginning to know this fruit, the growing immigrant populations from Latin America and Asia remain the foundation for the growth in demand for mangoes in the U.S. market. Nearly all the mangoes we buy here come from Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Guatemala, and Haiti (table 8). Mango imports in the United States continue to follow an upward path, increasing an average of 4 percent annually since 2000. In 2007, imports set a new record high at 651 million pounds, although the annual import growth was a bit sluggish at only about 1 percent. With the exception of Peru, imports last year rose from most of the leading suppliers. The most notable increase, however, was from India—a long-time leader in world mango production but for many years has been banned from sending mangoes to the United States due to phytosanitary reasons. Shipments from India in 2007 rose from 44,525 pounds the previous year to 396,413 pounds. Shipments from Mexico, which account for the bulk of U.S. imports, only rose 2 percent last year compared with a 14-percent increase in 2006. Shipments from Ecuador remained relatively unchanged from the previous year while declines were reported from Peru (down 13 percent) and Haiti (down (18 percent). Poor weather hampered supplies from South America whereas phytosanitary issues held back imports from Haiti. Imports of Haitian mangoes into the United States were blocked beginning in July 2007 after fruit flies were discovered in shipments back in late June. Pending results of USDA’s review of Haiti’s treatment and packaging procedures for mango exports, certification of all of the country’s mango exporting companies will remain suspended and no imports from that country will be allowed into the United States. As of first-quarter 2008, mango imports totaled 157 million pounds, up 43 percent from the same time last year, driving down mango prices. Import volume through March 2008 was up from all supplying nations. This is in contrast to last year’s first quarter when weather-reduced supplies in important mango exporting countries
in South America and harvest delays in Mexico’s early-season crop created a tight market which led to very strong early-season prices. More than half of first-quarter 2008 imports were from Peru, whose shipments were 54 percent higher than during the same time last year. Supplies from Mexico—the United States’ primary supplier of mangoes—increased 24 percent. A good growing season for Mexico’s 2008 mango crop is anticipated to provide large, good quality supplies of the fruit that will make its way here at more affordable prices relative to last year. As the summer approaches, Mexican supplies arriving in the United States are
increasing as other production regions of the country get their harvest underway. Mexico offers several varieties of mangoes that come in season in different times throughout the year. In general, though, supplies from Mexico are expected to reach peak levels for the season around June and July. Around late-March, f.o.b. shipping-point prices for Mexican Ataulfo mangoes crossing through Texas ranged from $5.00-$6.50 per 1-layer carton (12s), compared with $7.00 per carton the same time last year. Around the same time, prices for Mexican Haden and Tommy Atkins ranged from $2.75-$3.50 per 1 layer carton (12s), compared with $5.00- $7.00 per carton last year. By mid-May, f.o.b. prices for Mexican Ataulfo mangoes have remained below last year and have come down from earlier in the year, ranging from $3.50-$4.00 per 1-layer carton (12s). At the retail end, U.S. consumers in April and May were paying an average of $0.94 for a mango fruit, down from over $1.00 earlier in the year, based on the new retail price series reported by AMS beginning in October 2007.