Sun World acquires mango variety, plans to expand portfolio
Sun World International LLC has acquired the Kankun mango variety from Diazteca, a move the company says is a strategic addition to its nascent mango breeding and licensing program and the first commercial Sun World mango variety available for license.
The transaction was marked with a June 6 signing ceremony in San Diego, attended by Sun World CEO David Marguleas and Diazteca Director General Ismael Diaz, according to a news release.
“For nearly 40 years, Sun World has brought distinctive and flavorful grapes and stone fruit to leading fruit growers around the world,” Marguleas said in the release. “Those growers and others will soon have access to the Kankun mango as the first of many new cultivar releases we plan to introduce to the global produce industry.
“If you like tommy atkins, you’re going to love Kankun with its sweet tropical flavor, distinctive red blush, thin seed, low fiber content and early-ripening harvest advantage,” Marguleas continued. “The Kankun variety also maintains better quality through the required hot water treatment process.”
“We are pleased to work with the Sun World team to license the unique Kankun variety,” Diaz said in the release. “Their expertise and history of successful product commercialization will be invaluable.”
The research team for Diazteca, one of Mexico’s largest mango suppliers, developed the Kankun variety on its farms in Escuinapa, Mexico, according to the release. After favorable results from testing the variety with leading supermarket retailers, Diazteca and Sun World agreed to a deal that would make Kankun broadly available under license to mango growers, marketers, retailers and consumers worldwide and would allow Sun World researchers to use the variety in their breeding program, the companies said.
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“Sun World continues to expand our portfolio to encompass additional specialty fruit crops, through partnerships like Diazteca and our own variety development initiatives and expertise,” Sun World Chief Science Officer Jennifer Petersen said in the release.
“We’re excited to begin leveraging the Kankun variety and its unique attributes in our own breeding program,” Moises Gonzalez, specialty crop breeder for Sun World, said in the release.
The Kankun variety is currently in limited production in Mexico, with trees available under license from Sun World beginning in 2024, according to the release. Sun World says it plans to test the variety within its global licensing network.
California-based Sun World International operates as a global variety development and licensing company. It is dedicated to breeding and developing new varieties for the seedless table grape, stone fruit and specialty fruit industries.
Diazteca, Rio Rico, Ariz., is an international, vertically integrated family business, shipping over 3 million boxes a year from its 2,000 acres of mangoes.
