The last of the Mexican mango producing areas, in the Los Mochis area of northern Sinaloa, ended up with a relatively short crop in mid-September, shifting the mango focus to Brazil and South America.

Brazil got under way in late August and will have the U.S. market pretty much to itself until sometime in the latter part of October when Ecuador gets under way.

“It is a very strong market right now and it could stay that way until the latter part of November,” said Larry Nienkerk, manager of Splendid Products LLC in Burlingame, CA.As the Mexican mango deal comes to an end in mid-September, the focus is now on Brazil and South American mangos.

Splendid typically has a large-volume mango deal from Los Mochis that would go well into September. But this year, he said it was a short deal, leaving the door wide open for Brazil.

Because of the length of the voyage and other factors relating to supply and demand, Brazilian mango producers are always looking for a strong market before shipping their fruit to the United States. They have other options including Europe. This year it appears as if the U.S. market will offer a very good opportunity for a 10- to 12-week period stretching into November.

According to volume figures available on the National Mango Board website, Mexico and Brazil typically ship similar volumes to the United States in September, with Brazil dominating shipments in October.  Ecuador typically takes over as the top exporter in November and December, before giving way to Peru for the January-February time frame.  Those historical patterns should continue this year, other than the fact that Mexico’s September shipment will be way down and should not rival Brazil for the top spot.

Even though overall shipments wane a bit in the fall period, the mango board continues to promote the item on various fronts. On its website, the industry’s promotion group touts its back-to-school efforts for this time period. “We have partnered up with Scholastic to create mango-focused lesson plans and materials this fall for teachers, students and their families.”

NMB is also continuing its mango summer and soccer theme into the fall.  As part of its sponsorship as the official fruit of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and an official snack of U.S. Youth Soccer (USYS), the Mango Board is hosting a series of ticket, soccer balls and jerseys giveaways with the two groups.  

Another highlight for the mango industry in the fall is the annual National Mango Board reception held during the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit Convention & Expo, which will be held in Atlanta this year.  The reception, which brings more than 300 mango industry participants together for information and networking, and will take place on  Saturday, Oct. 24, from 5:30–7:30 p.m. at the OMNI Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center.  Limited sponsorships are still available for any organization wishing to reach this highly targeted mango audience event.  Contact the National Mango Board for more information.