Mango monthly review: March 2020

March was marked by an exceptional situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, travel restrictions led to irrational stockpiling by consumers of the most vital products. In the fruits and vegetables sector, it was longer-keeping fruits which benefitted from this craze (banana, citruses, etc.). Exotic products such as the mango, conversely, suffered a distinct downturn in demand. In the middle of the month, the implementation of more restrictive measures (partial or complete lockdown) aggravated the lack of interest in tropical fruits from distributors and consumers alike. This situation had a particularly adverse effect for the mango, which in parallel, was undergoing massive shipments from Peru. The switch from the Piura harvest zone to the Motupe and then Casma zones was not accompanied by a slowdown in import flows, especially since the deferral of tonnages from one week to the next was wiped out by shipping delays due to difficult sailing conditions in the Atlantic. The mean rate registered settled at around 3.00-4.00 euros/box, with sales below these prices. Some merchandise which had suffered quality deterioration during storage underwent clearance sales. Simultaneously, Brazil increased its shipments to Europe with Tommy Atkins, Palmer and Keitt. This produce, primarily sold on North European markets, traded on the same price footing as Peruvian fruit.

The air-freight mango market was also heavily disrupted in March. The irregularity of incoming shipments caused price jumps varying week to week. In the second half of the month, the suspension of numerous air links considerably reduced the volumes on the market. This quantitative reduction did not affect sale prices, due to the dwindling demand caused by the lockdown measures implemented in most European countries. The phenomenon was even accentuated by the price increases imposed by some air-freight companies. At the end of the month, market operators were not so much offering their customers fruit as selling off their stocks of merchandise before their quality deteriorated. There was no longer really such thing as a market rate.

mango - europe - estimated incoming shipments in march 2020

mango - france - import price in march 2020