Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Marketing
Consumer preferences vary, with the US market apparently preferring large-
sized and highly coloured mango without the turpentine taste, colour being
the more important. Mango marketing has taken on international dimensions,
with major marketing centres around the world. Canada and the USA are
the major markets in North America, while the major European Union (EU)
markets are located in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands. In the
Far East, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore are lucrative markets for producing
countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Pakistan. The
Philippine and Mexican mangoes dominate the Japanese market. The major
supplier for Hong Kong is the Philippines.
Countries supplying the North American and European markets are
Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Haiti, Jamaica and other Caribbean-
island countries in the Americas, and Ivory Coast, South Africa and Mali in
Africa. Egypt and Israel are small producers but are looking at the EU market
windows. Increases in demand will largely depend upon increasing consumer
familiarity with the fruit, quality and price structure. By virtue of geographical
location in the southern hemisphere, South Africa, Brazil, Peru and Australia
are able to supply mangoes to the North American, European and Asian
markets during their winter months, thus making mango a fruit that is
available year-round (Table 10.4).
UTILIZATION
The mango is rapidly becoming one of the leading trade crops in the tropics
and subtropics. As postharvest handling techniques and shipping technology
have improved, consumer demand has increased. The fruit is 60-75% fl esh,
11-18% skin and 14-22% seed, depending upon cultivar, with the fl esh
being
ca.
20% dry matter. Most of the mangoes produced are marketed in the
fresh state for consumption as a dessert fruit. Fruit can be eaten green, and
this practice is very popular in Thailand, the Philippines and Central America,
with some starchy and crispy cultivars being preferred, such as 'Khieo
Sawoey' in Thailand. Fruit may simply be peeled and sliced. Diced pieces
may be added to salads and fruit cocktails. People consume mango simply
because of its pleasant taste and fl avour without much thought about the
content of minerals, vitamins, lipids and amino acids. However, the mango is
a good to excellent source of provitamin A and is considered a fair source of
vitamin C (Table 10.7), although this varies greatly among cultivars, with a
range between a low of 5 mg and as high as 142 mg/100 g of fresh material
(Wenkam, 1990).
