OXNARD, CA - Between football season and holiday celebrations, mangos and avocados will be on many shoppers’ lists. As one of the industry’s leading suppliers, Freska Produce International is supporting the buy-side with its high-quality supply. To get a read on the current market, I got in touch with Gary Clevenger, Managing Partner.

“Currently, we are in the tail end of the Brazilian season and the middle of our season in Ecuador. Brazil volumes are way down on arrivals to the East Coast. Arrivals of Ecuador to the West are on the downside, and Peru has not kicked into gear this year. Peru, from what we are being told, will be very short this year—up to 80 percent less,” Gary informed me.

For the next couple of months, Gary anticipates a shortage of red mangos. He relayed that Freska will have yellow mangos from Mexico in mid-January and good volume by early February. As for red mangos in Mexico, some harvesting will start mid-February, but there will be no volume until late March or early April.

“Retail should be thinking about changing size requirements; with lower volume, not all the premium sizing will be available, so we are trying to help guide retail into something to keep them going until we get back to a normal crop harvest,” Gary explained. “Mango demand always increases with the New Year due to healthy eating resolutions and people looking forward to springtime, so we naturally see demand rise.”

Normally with cold winter months, consumption goes down, as Gary told me. However, this year with low volumes, volumes are moving at higher prices than normal. Typically during the holidays, mangos get moved aside for other items, but this year Freska is seeing things remain steady, and Gary expects that to continue.

For Freska’s avocado program, Gary had a positive outlook.

“We are currently in the Mexican avocado season. Prices have been fairly decent, and we are seeing mostly size 48 and smaller. Demand is very good and steady, and volumes out of Mexico have been kept at a level that has created some stability in the market and consistency in pricing,” Gary relayed. “As the California harvest approaches, we are keeping an eye out for the early growers who need to harvest this year. So far, things look good for a little better window than last year, and hopefully, this market will stay stable.”

With these markets constantly in motion, keep checking back with ANUK for the latest.

Freska Produce International