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Decent sales, sincere loyalty & extreme #MangoJoy cultivated despite production hurdles This season was one of the most peculiar I’ve experienced, but ultimately, it turned out to be one of the best in terms of ROI. Despite numerous trials and tribulations, our customers and consumers stood by us, and together we delivered exceptional mango experiences at the retail level. Shoppers enjoyed decent prices, and we provided plenty of culinary and commodity education. We sold more overall, primarily because we diversified the variety of mangoes available. Although Mexican production was slightly down, the heightened excitement and consumer engagement made sales move faster than in previous seasons. The season is ending this week, but there is plenty to be pleased about in terms of how participants of our program cultivated #MangoJoy and reaped great rewards despite the climate related obstacles. I take more about the rewards of the season HERE. For now here’s a quick recap or a meander down the seasonal memory lane.
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Ataulfo price drop, Chiapas comes alive, EDJ2 opens, , more round fruit, blooming northern landscapes and opulent specialty mango flowers Weekends are sacred in our business. In contrast to Australians who may soon have the privilege of declining unreasonable calls and avoiding responses to calls or emails from their bosses outside “normal business hours,” most of us produce folks contend with a fair share of unreasonable demands seven days a week. We not only answer our phone calls from our bosses but also find ourselves in constant problem solving mode. Despite these constant demands, there is a certain peace to the weekend—the phone doesn’t ring as frequently, and the atmosphere tends to be quieter. This is why I take pleasure in dropping positive news Under the Mango Tree on Fridays. It is part of my quest to create more #MangoJoy in our lives, from orchard to table. I am going to make this short and sweet for us so we can get to the weekend sooner!
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Amidst adversity, signs of hope blossom One grower described this season to me like this “completely impossible to predict much of anything in the orchards.” Most agree that predictions of any kind are not easy to make, particularly this season, as has been demonstrated in the chaos of contracts and commitments. As more of us engage in processing larger quantities of Mexican mangoes, additional information is gathered. That information is useful. At present, the best I can offer is sharing my most up-to-date intel from the orchards. Despite the challenges, there is more of the same (bad) news plus a glimmer of hope in the form of brilliant, beautiful mango blossoms.
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Mexican mango season starts slowly amidst an empty pipeline….. I’m back from a beach break in Puerto Rico, a much needed respite before another Mexican mango season begins. This break proved to be a wise decision, considering the anticipated complexity of the looming mango season, perhaps even more complex than usual and mostly just at the onset. In my last crop report, “A Christmas Mango Teaser,” my message was a mix of positive news alongside Roberto’s warning about the strong winds prevailing at that time. Many expected wind damage resulting in some gaps, prompting us to wait before assessing the situation. Unfortunately, the wind did cause damage by dislodging blooms and even some set fruit, creating numerous small gaps from orchard to orchard. This will impact volumes at the onset and during the initial weeks of the season. Essentially, supplies will be limited for most of February but are expected to increase and stabilize as we progress into March.
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Generally jolly good orchard news, a sprinkle of bah humbug & my best holiday mango recipes Roberto Crespo, a member of the #HermanosCrespos “band” or what I consider the lead singer of our south, is currently and like usual, deeply rooted in the soils of Oaxaca and Chiapas preparing for the season start up. This week he is sharing some encouraging updates direct from our Mexican mango orchards down there, which feels like the best Christmas news ever! He sprinkles a little bah humbug on our festive mood, reporting of some serious wind currently swirling the orchards, noting it could be concerning for fruit supply farther into the season. I will report back with my usual New Year/ New Season Mexican Mango Predictions next week with more details from Roberto. Consider this just a little teaser of Christmas hope before we all break for the holiday. Today, I want mostly to sprinkle a bit of #MangoJoy on us for the Mexican mango season ahead with the scarcity of positive offshore organic mango news, I thought some flashes of good news would be a nice change.
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Terrible Ecuadoran & Peruvian mango volume predictions The Mexican organic mango season is officially closed at orchard level, and while that’s certainly noteworthy, there’s another pressing issue that demands our attention: the forecasts for Ecuadorian and Peruvian mango production volumes, both organic and conventional, are extremely grim. In fact, they are expected to be significantly worse than just bad—reaching catastrophic levels in the case of organic mangoes. I’m going to try to succinctly piece together the facts, while reminding you of the finicky nature of mango blooms. It’s important to note that not even chemical bloom agents (which aren’t employed in organic production) are powerless against nature’s whims, such as El Niño or climate change.
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