Mexican mango crop coming on for Ciruli Bros.

Mexican mangoes will be coming on by early March for Tubac, Ariz.-based Ciruli Bros., says Chris Ciruli, chief operations officer.

“We are going to start harvesting the last week of February, and we expect to have our first arrivals in the U.S. in the first week of March,” Ciruli said, noting the mango crop timing is similar to a year ago.

Substantial volume is expected from the start, with heavier volume anticipated to start about April 15, leading to promotable supply for Cinco de Mayo celebrations, he said.

With rain delaying the planting of vegetables in California and uneven weather in other places, Ciruli said mangoes represent a solid promotional opportunity for retailers in the spring.

“It is an exciting thing to get customers wrapped around the warmer weather coming, and we have got some great fruit coming for the next few big holiday pushes,” he said.

Consumers are selective about how they spend their dollars, but Ciruli said retailers who offer promotions at the right price can move big volumes.

“You want to [market] a commodity that's got a big display and is on at the right price to bring that consumer in so they get value for what they're buying,” he said. “We have good promotions lined up to keep [consumers] coming back all summer.”

Mango harvest begins in the southern part of Mexico near Guatemala and moves north up the west coast of Mexico, with the season running from about late February to the end of September.

Mango demand has been increasing at a fast clip, he said, both for whole mangoes and sliced fruit. While Ciruli Bros. is not slicing fresh mangoes for distribution, he said both categories continue to grow.

“We're just fortunate that the demographics are breaking in our favor of heavy Hispanic and heavy Asian population growth,” he said. That reality creates more occasions for mangoes to be consumed, he said.

Ciruli Bros. is known for the Champagne mango (ataulfo variety), but Ciruli said the company is also bringing in round haden mangoes to offer retailers more options.

“A lot more retailers are carrying two types of mangoes all the time,” he said. “As we go forward, there's just more and more guys carrying double sets of mangoes out there, both the yellow mangoes and the round mangoes.” 

The company also is looking to increase its volume of organic mangoes, he said.

The marketer also carries numerous vegetable items, and Ciruli said volume should be increasing in February for many vegetables after “tumultuous weather” in December and January.