Colombia will be the New Mango Supplier to the US Market in 2022

Published 2021년 12월 28일

It has been recently reported by the Colombian American Chamber of Commerce that the US has authorized fresh mango imports from Colombia. With this, Colombia joins the rest of the Latin American mango suppliers that have seen substantial growth in the already competitive US mango market. This presents an incredible opportunity for Colombian mango exporters due to the country’s capacity to harvest fresh mango throughout the year. As a result, Colombian mangoes will access the largest mango market globally. Furthermore, they will aim to offer fresh production at a competitive price at a specific seasonal window when Mexican mangoes are scarce.

Like the rest of the mango suppliers to the US, Colombian mango imports will be subject to phytosanitary risk mitigation protocols, such as phytosanitary irradiation and hot water treatment. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (APHIS) will be entering an operational work plan with Colombia’s regulation authority (NPPO) to determine the daily procedures the NPPO will take to implement the APHIS’s measures.

With the health implementation, Colombian mangoes will be reaching the same phytosanitary treatment and preferential tariffs as the rest of Latin American suppliers. Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, and Guatemala have all boosted their mango exports due to the continuous growth of mango consumption in the US market.

US Mango Consumption Continues to Increase, Demanding Larger Volumes

According to the USDA, in the last ten years, consumption of mangoes in the US has grown by 63%, going from 1.04 to 1.65 kg per capita. 98% of US mango consumption comes from global imports since mangoes are produced domestically only four months of the year, generating greater demand for the remaining eight months. In 2020, the imported value of mangoes reached USD 718M and represented 574K MT, for what was a record volume year.

From 2011 to 2020, US mango and mangosteen imports grew by 51%, and this upward trend has also been observed in 2021. According to data from the US National Mango Board (NMB), during the first nine months of 2021, US mango imports increased by 1.6% year on year. The data also shows another significant trend: higher deliveries from Brazil offset lower deliveries from Mexico from July to September, which is around the time when the US reaches its South American mango suppliers that are in full production seasons, such as the case of Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador.

Source: ITC Trade Map

The current leading supplier of mangoes to the US remains Mexico with a 55% share of the US import share, followed by Peru with 14%, and Ecuador and Brazil with 9%. All of these countries export under conditions equivalent to those recently authorized to Colombia. All of them have been increasing their exported volume while trying to fulfill the US demand between September through January when Mexican mangoes are out of season.

Colombia’s Window of Opportunity in the US Market

Colombian mangoes won’t have an accessible entrance into the US market, as all other suppliers have been in the market for many years. However, Colombian mango exporters will have a window of opportunity when South American mangoes enter the market. Furthermore, as all-year-round producers, they will try to extend their export season to the US until February, when Brazilian and Ecuadorian mangoes are already scarce. Thus, the direct competitor of Colombian mangoes would be Peru, the second-largest supplier to the US, which main supplies are focused on covering the demand from December to March.

It was recently reported by Waysem Li, Tridge’s representative in Peru, that Peru’s mango production is expected to decrease within the current MY 2021/22 due to the global logistic crisis. “The global logistic crisis was expected to negatively affect the early season of mangoes in Peru, but the problem has extended to at least to Week 51-52, and it does not seem like it will get better any time soon,”. he stated. “Several growers have decided to hold harvesting on Week 50-51, as they do not want to risk processing fruit that won't be exported due to the lack of bookings availability. This behavior also affects the price stability on-field as it constantly changes based on the number of confirmed bookings”, he added.

Besides its seasonality, Colombian mangos will offer a wider mango variety that might still not be that well known to US consumers, so new Colombian varieties are expected in the market. The Colombian mango production has exponentially increased over the last years, reaching around 610K MT in 2020. Along with the rise in production, the Colombian export market has also increased the development and commercialization of new varieties such as The Baby mango, Yulima, Nam Dok Mai, and the already known Tommy Atkins.

2022 Outlook for Colombian Mangoes

As of now, Colombia exports 2.3K MT worth USD 9.5M of mangoes to more than ten countries, including Canada (42%), France (13.7%), the Netherlands (11%), and Qatar (9.5%). However, the country’s increasing mango production has the potential to increase its exports considerably and establish itself as one of the leading winter mango suppliers.

Source: ITC Trade Map, Tridge

By 2022, it won’t be surprising to see a slight shift in the US’s winter supply of mangoes. Starting from September 2022, Colombian mangoes are expected to enter the market with many shipments, which are likely to face a container shortage that will continue until then. However, if Colombia is able to enter the US market with an average price between 4.0 and 7.0 USD per kg despite logistics constraints, they will hold a significant opportunity to gain a very valuable market share, which could represent a substantial portion of the total exports.

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