Mango production in the North of Sinaloa (Mexico) is characterized by three parameters such as quality, safety and unity of the sector, which have contributed decisively to the growth of this crop in this Mexican region. To better understand the cultivation in Northern Sinaloa, Mr. Daniel Ibarra Lugo, president of the Association of Mango Exporters of the fruit fly-free zone in Northern Sinaloa, provides us with his knowledge and experience.

Regarding this season's campaign, our interviewee comments that “the campaign in the Northern area of ​​Sinaloa is going to begin in a couple of weeks. We start with the early varieties which are Ataulfos and are Tommys. We have good expectations in production. Last year we did not do very well in the matter of commercialization due to the question of the sizes we had, since our area is the last area of ​​Mexico and is subtropical, and not tropical, with mango being a tropical production, here the We force to produce and it does not produce such large sizes in these varieties indicated above. However, in the other late varieties such as Kent and Keitt they give us very large sizes "

"Returning to the issue of the campaign in the north, we see it positive and a good development of the fruit, we believe that this year we are going to have sizes a little larger than last year, and like the vast majority of orchards in here they are irrigated, and that helps us to grow the fruit. At this time, we are very aware of the situation in the other producing areas of the country, which has been a very dry year, and in our area it has also been dry, but as they are irrigated areas, the fruit has been watered for the most part, although not all of them were able to irrigate, but we hope for a good development ”, adds Mr. Daniel Ibarra.

Regarding the growth of mangoes in Northern Sinaloa, the leader of this association points out that “we have a planted area of ​​8,000 hectares. In production we have approximately 5,000 hectares. In fact, we have been growing a lot. In the last six years we have been growing at a great rate, since there were 4,000 hectares and now we have 8,000 hectares ”.

In addition, he also adds that "in our area there is no fruit processor, and unlike other producing areas, when the market begins to mature there are other niches of opportunity, which have not yet occurred in this area. In my opinion, due to my knowledge and the history of the other areas, there will come a time when the fruit will have an economic value so that it is the raw material for processors, and in this way other types of businesses will start in this area. ”.

Regarding the challenges and challenges, our interviewee comments that “one of the challenges we have in this area, which I mentioned earlier, is that as we are a subtropical area there is no rain, because the rainfall comes from the mountains of other areas, and the water is brought channeled. If there is no water this summer so to speak, and the dams do not arrive, there is a great risk for all producers in the area, since there are no optimal irrigation systems, everything is gravity irrigation. If we don't have water, the same plantations that we already have are at risk ”.

“Many people have not wanted to become technologically advanced in irrigation systems, and although they have been used, they have not had the optimal performance, and that is the reason, which is why many have put them in and have withdrawn them. I personally believe that this has occurred because the appropriate irrigation systems were not put in place, and it had a bad taste in the mouth, and low yields in the field, ”says Mr. Daniel Ibarra.

In the marketing chapter, this expert in the world of mango points out that “our production is mostly destined for the United States market, as well as Canada. There are shipments to Europe and Asia, but very little is sent, and we are also limited by sea. Almost all shipments are air, and are low volume. Maritime shipments in this area take a long time to reach their destination, as we are far to the north of the country, it takes us a long time to reach the ports that have greater efficiency and less transit time, and this means that arriving in Europe by sea is as late as about twenty-five days, and that's a long time for fruit. "

“For four or five years, air shipping has been growing as another option, in fact we are very close to a port, which is the port of Topolobampo, which has not been adequately taken advantage of. In fact, to send to Japan it is done from Long Beach, that is, by land from our area to California, and from there by sea. And although we are literally next to a port and the transit days are not optimal, and also there are no other perishable products at the same time as ours, so that it is worth having a line that does the job, because you will not want to for very few containers. The logistical challenge complicates the search for new markets both in Europe and Asia ”, says Mr. Daniel Ibarra.

 Effects of the COVID 19 pandemic

Already addressing the effects of COVID 19, the head of this Association comments that “the truth is that last year was a year of great uncertainty and we were quite afraid that the packaging would be stopped by some type of collective contagion, fortunately it did not happen like that, All the people were taking care of themselves and complying with the protocols, which helped us to finish the harvest in good time and with the appropriate personnel. And regarding this year, we are more confident that we will not have any problems ”.

New commercial strategies for mango in the new post-COVID times

Analyzing the profitability of mangoes in this part of Mexico, our interviewee indicates that "in our area we have some advantages and that is the reason why our mango productions have been growing. One of these is that we do not have hydrothermal and that takes a lot of time in production, we are also closer to the border than the other producing areas of the country, and the truth is that with the irrigation we have in our area, the orchards and gardens have greater production. that has made our area grow, and it is profitable in a natural way ”.

“We believe that the area will continue to grow, there is no strategy per se, the truth is that we have the natural strategies of trade with which we have been growing, but they were already there before COVID. And regarding this pandemic, what we have been doing is taking the appropriate precautions so as not to have any problems. Regarding marketing, the issue of mango consumption has been very positive compared to other crops, especially in the United States, since its consumption has risen a lot, and it has been the fruit that has done well in the market. COVID, for its nutritional values, for the promotion as healthy fruit, thanks to the splendid work of the National Mango Board ”, says Mr. Daniel Ibarra.

Short and medium term objectives

In the section on objectives of his association, Mr. Daniel Ibarra points out that “the projects that we have as an Association is, above all, to take good care of the area, especially from quarantine pests, that is our most important work and that we are working on. more pending. The second is the communication that we have with our members, and in the matter of commercialization we have no concerns because it is not the function of our entity. Our function is not marketing but communication, and as an organization we are the means of communication with government entities, private entities, institutions, entities from other countries, and so on ”.

Mango strengths and weaknesses in Northern Sinaloa

Regarding strengths and weaknesses, our interviewee comments that “from my personal point of view, I think the greatest strength is that packers are also producers, that is, owners of their orchards. Unlike other producing areas, there are producers on the one hand and packers on the other, although there are also cases that are both. This means that the packers themselves take great care in their orchards, and take better care than in other producing areas, because they are interested in their commercialization and they know the concerns of the market such as having a very good quality fruit, it is important for the producer and also for the packer. This is a great strength for our sector ”.

“Regarding weaknesses, I would say that it could be to trust the market and not look for new commercial alternatives. I think this is for the majority of producers in Mexico, that we are very confident in our neighbor, that is, in the United States as our main market, and we have not developed other markets as we should or at least as other countries such as Peru, for example. that its market is well diversified, and this is something that we should also do ”, highlights this connoisseur of the mango sector.

United sector

Also, he fundamentally emphasizes that "the truth is that the producers themselves are very close, because as our association does not have commercial purposes but for the common good, and that helps our group a lot".

Indigenous quality seal

At the same time, he also underlines that “we have been looking for an appellation of origin, and we have not given it the time that we should and it has not helped because the institutions have been closed because of the pandemic, but we are looking for something like this in particular that helps producers to differentiate themselves and not to hurt producers in other areas, more than anything to have a differentiation. We have a high quality mango, which in one hundred percent I dare to say that it does not have hydrothermal treatment and has more shelf life for the same reason, it has phytosanitary care, the packers are very careful, and we have a more profitable handle for any distributor ”.

“The variety that could be different here from others would be Keitt, which is late, and as it has no size restrictions, it is a variety that can be exported in a larger size than other areas. Here calibres three, four and five are used, and in other producing areas they use up to six, because the larger it has to cook, the more in hydrothermal. Our area has some very large ones compared to other areas and that is the particularity of our area ”, says Mr. Daniel Ibarra.

Organic mangoes

In his review of the mango sector, he also analyzes that “the production of organic mangoes has been stopped, the truth is that there are few producers of organic mangoes in our area. One of our limiting factors is that the market has been a bit stagnant, and since there are no processors in the area they have not looked for it either, and also a limitation is that in this area you cannot bring mangoes from other areas to pack here, as is the case of other producing areas of Mexico. That is, only what is produced here is packed, unlike other areas, such as southern Sinaloa, which can bring mangoes from anywhere in the country and pack them there, of course after a hydrothermal treatment it exports them, but we are limited in our area and we only work our own production ".

Fresh cut and frozen mango

Regarding the "Fresh-Cut" and frozen mango sector, he points out that "in the United States, there is a lot of processed such as" Fresh-Cut "that has been growing, but right now due to the pandemic in the last cycle it was not so good , since it focuses on people who work and many were working from home and, therefore, it dropped a bit. The consumption of frozen mango has had a lot of growth and that has helped a lot ”.

Market diversification

Regarding the diversification of markets, our interviewee points out that “until we have better logistics, we will not be able to have growth in terms of new markets. Our natural markets, and strategically where we are, are the United States and Canada, and we would like to bet on new export markets, although few people like to venture out, and if they have a bad experience or a taste in their mouth, they will not. make".

Canada Market

In relation to the Canadian market, Mr. Daniel Ibarra highlights that “it has an importance of five to eight percent in terms of consumption. It is a very important market for us, the only thing is that sometimes you don't have the same importers who distribute the product there. Trade ties and rules are not the same as the United States with Mexico, as Canada with Mexico. There is greater protection when you make a shipment in the US, and you have a rejection for example of quality, you have more options to accommodate than in Canada, which is very strict and if you do not reach the appropriate quality, you run the risk that your product not for sale. You have that business risk. The United States represents ninety percent for our mangoes and two percent is airborne ”.

Future of the mango from Northern Sinaloa

Analyzing the future, the head of the mangoes from northern Sinaloa points out that “we have to have alternatives in terms of processes. On the subject of processed fruit, we must take this into account and that the raw material is paid appropriately. The processing would help us a lot so that there would not be a marketing problem in the future. There is no processor, as they cannot bring fruit from other areas either, so we are limited only to these companies only buying fruit from our area ”.

"As there is a greater supply of product and production grows, there should be more processors. The producer must think about transforming the raw material, whether it is frozen, dehydrated, etc. ”, points out Mr. Daniel Ibarra.

"Definitely, I think that, in 9 years, that is to say in 2030, we will have twice the production we have now, this area will grow faster than the other producing areas of the country," says this connoisseur of the food industry. mango.

In addition, he adds that "the commercialization of high quality fruit is in our area together with our exhaustive quality standards, with excellent safety, and since the producers and packers are the same, they know perfectly the safety needs they need, and It helps a lot that both orchards and packaging are certified in safety. We have the highest percentage of orchards certified in safety compared to the rest of the country. We take care of quality protocols in an exemplary way. We have ninety percent of our orchards with a safety certificate and 100 percent packaging. In matters of Social Responsibility, we have seventy percent of the packaging certifies two. Therefore, they are very flattering and good data, compared with other areas of the country, and also with other countries ”.

Work of the National Mango Board

It also highlights in a very positive way that "mango consumption has been growing more and more in the United States, thanks to the work of the National Mango Board, so their work is very positive and they have done a great job to boost consumption. It is a super trendy fruit that has many health benefits ”.