The COVID-19 health crisis has undoubtedly affected the entire agri-food sector as a whole, but the strength of Mexico's mango industry has undoubtedly made it possible for them to cope with the current pandemic that is being lived worldwide. It is evident that the Mexican mango sector has "reinvented itself" and given the difficult times that have occurred, it has established new commercial strategies so that this fruit remains competitive and dynamic.

From a commercial point of view, the natural market for mangoes from Mexico is still the United States, due to geographical proximity, however professionals in this field are fully aware of the importance of diversification and, in this sense, have their sights set on in new markets that are perfectly complementary to the one indicated above, such as the European Union and Japan.

According to Myrna Castro, managing director of EMEX (Association of Mango Exporters of Mexico), “the possibilities offered by the market are very interesting for our industry, in fact we believe that we can grow in this commercial space from at least 10 to one 15 percent in the coming years, as well as the Trade Agreement between the EU and Mexico, which will undoubtedly help boost our exports to the old continent in the new post-COVID stage ”.

"On the other hand, the Japanese market is also very important for our exports, as Japanese consumers value the quality of our mangoes and are willing to pay their price, so we must strengthen our presence in it in the short and medium term. consolidating our distribution channels and growing based on a strategy based on premium quality products ”, affirms Myrna Castro.

Within the process of internationalization of the Mexican mango, there are also other markets of interest such as the Middle East and Russia. In this sense, Myrna Castro also points out that “our international expansion also includes other interesting markets such as the Middle East and Russia. These are two markets that we have to explore and get to know better, we know that logistics is a challenge to overcome, but we also believe that it is important to retain consumers in both countries, and to consolidate ourselves with the prestige and quality that characterize our mangoes. For this purpose, we have to know well the distributors that operate there ”.

COVID 19 has transformed the sales system worldwide. In this sense, the managing director of EMEX points out that "we have very important challenges such as betting on electronic commerce, which is very important at the moment, and we also want to gain access to the Chinese market, once we have the protocol phytosanitary finalized. It is obvious that we have to continue betting strongly on chapters such as digital marketing, promotion and promoting safety and sustainability in our industry ”.

"As a consequence of COVID 19, the consumer seeks to eat better and better, and in this sense, in the coming years we will have to strengthen without any doubt, the commercialization of organic mangoes and also strengthen Corporate Social Responsibility in mango packaging, these these are two objectives to be overcome during the next year ”, clarifies Myrna Castro.

EMEX entrepreneurs are aware that the world has changed due to COVID, but food is an essential sector, and in the coming years, mango consumption will increase, and the consumer will be the first benchmark for quality, food safety and trust is the mango origin Mexico.