ASAJA Málaga stressed that, despite having a smaller caliber this season, the quality of the mango from Malaga is great. "Producers are currently harvesting the mango and they have noticed that, even though there is a lot of fruit, a percentage of the mangoes is smaller than usual. Moreover, producers are not being rewarded for the enormous efforts they make to make the fruit available to the market," the organization stated.
"The fruit was unable to reach a greater size because of the high summer temperatures by day and night, which also advanced the harvest dates," ASAJA Málaga stated. "The quality is exquisite. The fruits analyzed during the campaign have 16 and up to 17 degrees Brix, exceeding the 15 to 15.5 degrees Brix achieved last season, which guarantees the fruit has an extraordinary sweetness and flavor."
"This situation has taken producers by surprise. As a result of the lower sizes, there isn't a particularly strong demand in the market, which, in turn, is making sales difficult." On the other hand, supermarket chains, fruit shops, and other points of sale recognize that this year's fruit has very high quality and they are making special efforts so that consumers, who are not used to buying these calibers, purchase the product."
"Since there is no demand, prices are falling more than usual, in certain calibers, generating a significant commercial problem, especially at the last link of the chain, which is the producer," stated ASAJA Málaga.
"We had never experienced this before. It's the first time the mangoes haven't grow in size since they were planted in the province, but the quality is extraordinary," stated the president of ASAJA Málaga, Baldomero Bellido.
"We are currently in the middle of a mango production campaign in which the sector expects to produce a little more than in the last campaign, in which some 28,000 tons were marketed in Malaga. This can make things harder for producers, as they are having trouble marketing the product because of its size."
ASAJA Málaga encourages consumers to take advantage of and trust the high quality of the local product as they have done so far and asks the distribution chains to support the consumption of Spanish mangoes.
Source: agrodigital.com