Mexican mango volume moves into its peak period
Mexican mango volume moves into its peak period
The numbers say that the volume of Mexican mangos being sent to the United States is up, but many mango importers who were interviewed in late May and early June cited lower-than-expected supplies and a strong demand for the fruit.
There seemed to be several different reasons for the discrepancy between the perception of the situation and the facts as reported by EMEX, the Mexican organization that keeps track of the daily crossings into the United States. In the first place, early estimates indicated a Mexican mango crop that was going to be very large in volume. The large set on the trees resulted in the fruit not sizing as well, which resulted in less-than-expected volume of cartons. The deal also got started a bit earlier, so even though daily volume might not be up, total volume is.
Another factor is that there are many different growing regions in Mexico including operations in Michoacan, Nayarit, Sinaloa and farther north later in the summer. So it is difficult for some importers to get the full picture as they are mostly aware of what is happening in the district they are operating from. For example, Isabel Freeland of Coast Tropicals in San Diego said that her firm's volume is down about 20 percent. Coast controls most of its own acreage. On the other hand, Chuck Ciruli Sr. of Ciruli Bros. in Nogales, AZ, said that his volume was right on target. "I don't know what everyone else is doing, but we are happy with what we are getting."
Chris Ciruli, also of Ciruli Bros. and Chuck Sr.'s son, said that there does seem to be a perception that volume is down, but it simply is not the case. "As of May 29, 17,915,000 cartons [of Mexican mangos] had crossed. So we are just shy of 18 million. Last year as of May 29, we had only crossed 15.8 million. The difference is that last year, we were already hitting 2 million cartons per week in May. That didn't happen this year."
Mr. Ciruli said that when Mexico reaches 2 million cartons per week in crossings, it is the peak period. "Once we hit that number, we usually keep it going for another four to five weeks."
For 2006, the week ending June 3 was the first week that passed that magic number. "We are now into peak production and I think we will stay here until after July 4," he said.
Bill Vogel of Tavilla Sales in Los Angeles agreed that volume was greater than the perception. While crossings were hovering around the 250,000-carton level on a daily basis in late May, he said that there was a big jump in the crossings on Friday and Saturday before the Memorial Day holiday. "We topped 330,000 each of those days. That tells me there is a lot of volume out there."
Like virtually everyone interviewed, Mr. Vogel agreed that July would see significant crossings of mangos on a daily basis. With the increased volume, Mr. Vogel (and everyone else) was anticipating an improvement in the quality of the product that reaches the border. Earlier this year, a number of U.S. importers were not reticent at all about the quality of pack that many Mexican shippers send to the United States. At that time, a number of U.S. importers singled out Michoacan growers as the worst offenders. U.S. industry leaders said that while there are good, quality growers and shippers, the majority of Mexican growers seemingly have not learned that they are operating in a global economy. Gone are the days when they could control the market and not worry so much about quality. Taking up the battle cry for improved quality was Mr. Vogel.
Trying to get Mexican packers to ship cartons that are up to the expectations of U.S. retailers is still a daily challenge, Mr. Vogel said. Among others, he blamed EMEX, the Mexican grower organization. He indicated that the group has done very little to enhance the quality of the product that the Mexican shippers send to the U.S. market. "They don't seem to be able to see the forest through the trees," he said, adding that the growers and their representatives are not understanding the big picture.
Mr. Vogel said that growers in virtually all the other production countries - including Brazil, Guatemala, Ecuador and Peru - are putting up a much better pack and squeezing Mexico from both ends.
For the most part, Mexico has the market to itself through June and July, but it also used to have all of May and most of August. Now Guatemalan shippers are lasting well into May because many U.S. retailers are reluctant to switch to what they believe is the inferior pack from Mexico. And, according to Mr. Vogel, Brazil is squeezing Mexico from the other end, coming in earlier in August with a superior product.
The issue does not appear to be as much about what is grown as what is placed in the carton. Mr. Vogel said that there are shippers doing an excellent job proving that there is a way when there is a will.
(For more on the Mexican mango deal, see the June 12 issue of The Produce News.)
There seemed to be several different reasons for the discrepancy between the perception of the situation and the facts as reported by EMEX, the Mexican organization that keeps track of the daily crossings into the United States. In the first place, early estimates indicated a Mexican mango crop that was going to be very large in volume. The large set on the trees resulted in the fruit not sizing as well, which resulted in less-than-expected volume of cartons. The deal also got started a bit earlier, so even though daily volume might not be up, total volume is.
Another factor is that there are many different growing regions in Mexico including operations in Michoacan, Nayarit, Sinaloa and farther north later in the summer. So it is difficult for some importers to get the full picture as they are mostly aware of what is happening in the district they are operating from. For example, Isabel Freeland of Coast Tropicals in San Diego said that her firm's volume is down about 20 percent. Coast controls most of its own acreage. On the other hand, Chuck Ciruli Sr. of Ciruli Bros. in Nogales, AZ, said that his volume was right on target. "I don't know what everyone else is doing, but we are happy with what we are getting."
Chris Ciruli, also of Ciruli Bros. and Chuck Sr.'s son, said that there does seem to be a perception that volume is down, but it simply is not the case. "As of May 29, 17,915,000 cartons [of Mexican mangos] had crossed. So we are just shy of 18 million. Last year as of May 29, we had only crossed 15.8 million. The difference is that last year, we were already hitting 2 million cartons per week in May. That didn't happen this year."
Mr. Ciruli said that when Mexico reaches 2 million cartons per week in crossings, it is the peak period. "Once we hit that number, we usually keep it going for another four to five weeks."
For 2006, the week ending June 3 was the first week that passed that magic number. "We are now into peak production and I think we will stay here until after July 4," he said.
Bill Vogel of Tavilla Sales in Los Angeles agreed that volume was greater than the perception. While crossings were hovering around the 250,000-carton level on a daily basis in late May, he said that there was a big jump in the crossings on Friday and Saturday before the Memorial Day holiday. "We topped 330,000 each of those days. That tells me there is a lot of volume out there."
Like virtually everyone interviewed, Mr. Vogel agreed that July would see significant crossings of mangos on a daily basis. With the increased volume, Mr. Vogel (and everyone else) was anticipating an improvement in the quality of the product that reaches the border. Earlier this year, a number of U.S. importers were not reticent at all about the quality of pack that many Mexican shippers send to the United States. At that time, a number of U.S. importers singled out Michoacan growers as the worst offenders. U.S. industry leaders said that while there are good, quality growers and shippers, the majority of Mexican growers seemingly have not learned that they are operating in a global economy. Gone are the days when they could control the market and not worry so much about quality. Taking up the battle cry for improved quality was Mr. Vogel.
Trying to get Mexican packers to ship cartons that are up to the expectations of U.S. retailers is still a daily challenge, Mr. Vogel said. Among others, he blamed EMEX, the Mexican grower organization. He indicated that the group has done very little to enhance the quality of the product that the Mexican shippers send to the U.S. market. "They don't seem to be able to see the forest through the trees," he said, adding that the growers and their representatives are not understanding the big picture.
Mr. Vogel said that growers in virtually all the other production countries - including Brazil, Guatemala, Ecuador and Peru - are putting up a much better pack and squeezing Mexico from both ends.
For the most part, Mexico has the market to itself through June and July, but it also used to have all of May and most of August. Now Guatemalan shippers are lasting well into May because many U.S. retailers are reluctant to switch to what they believe is the inferior pack from Mexico. And, according to Mr. Vogel, Brazil is squeezing Mexico from the other end, coming in earlier in August with a superior product.
The issue does not appear to be as much about what is grown as what is placed in the carton. Mr. Vogel said that there are shippers doing an excellent job proving that there is a way when there is a will.
(For more on the Mexican mango deal, see the June 12 issue of The Produce News.)
