Container space availability in Peru will be very limited for the next three weeks due to a shortage of containers in the country, according to a statement from the International Mango Organization (IMO).
Shipping lines are reportedly turning down spot orders and have restricted space availability by as much as 70 per cent until the container supply can be organised.
The news comes as a blow to Peruvian mango exporters who have over one month left of the season to ship their fruit, according to IMO.
The challenge now is for the country’s mango suppliers to find a source for the excess production either in the processing (pulp) industry or on local markets, IMO said.
Alternatively, another option is to ship the fruit to Europe via truck to Ecuador and then across the Atlantic to Europe.
IMO said the silver lining to this dark crowd is that the mango market in US is in the US$3 range with Mexican volume increasing.
The immediate impact will not be felt in the US for a few weeks, however, as Peru has already sent a large volume of mangoes to the market, while Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua, are all starting up their mango supply deals.
