Japan opened its doors to Peruvian mangoes for the first time last season, and the product did remarkably well. Now coming into the second season of access, and with the promise of a welcoming market, Peru’s exporters are trying to determine just how significant the Japanese market could prove for them.
One of the first to ship Peruvian mangoes to Japan last year after access was granted, Mike Soulsby of Lima-based Delica South America told Asiafruit Magazine the same two packhouses that shipped last year look to be the only ones investing in Japanese certification this season.
“Whether volumes increase or not will be more dependent on the efficiencies of the packhouses and leniency or otherwise of the inspectors, rather than harvest volumes,” he said.
Last year a number of importers brought in early-season fruit and had trouble with landed quality, according to Mr Soulsby, so this year the focus will be on quality and identifying the partners who can guarantee it.
The fledgling business will also struggle with Japan’s economic downturn, which is having an impact on premium imports across the board, as well as the time of year.
“We are hoping to grow the Peruvian mango business for this coming season. However, its export season is not in our high-demand period in Japan because it’s our winter,” cautioned Keita Watari of importer Watari Co. He said that seasonality means Peruvian mangoes may never be a huge hit in Japan, although other importers and exporters are predicting otherwise.
Peru’s mango offering is in the main composed of the Kent variety, which Japanese consumers refer to as an ‘apple’ mango, and hits the sweet spot for demand there.
“Japanese consumers love Kent varieties. They’re better than the other red mangoes,” explained Don Okazoe of major Japanese importer IPM Nishimoto. “Now we can supply to customers year-round Kent variety mangoes supplied from Mexico, Brazil and then Peru. We’re very happy since we opened to Peruvian mangoes.”
But other markets in Asia, such as China and South Korea, which exporters also see as holding promise for Peruvian mangoes, are not quite so keen on Kent mangoes.
Faced with competition from premium Australian mangoes of varieties such as R2E2 and Kensington Pride, some feel Peruvian Kent mangoes may have a hard time establishing themselves in China at least.
“On the mangoes there’s a lot of work to do on the varieties,” stated Jason Bosch of Shanghai-based importer Origin Direct Asia. He said the older, greener-skinned varieties like Kent and Tommy Atkins do not have the same appeal as the brighter Australian varieties.
“If `Peru` can find traction with the new varieties that the Australians have, they could potentially see opportunities for mangoes in China.”
