Chiapas, Mexico
How is it produced?
- Ataulfo Mangoes are grown primarily in Chiapas Mexico.
- Growers manage orchards – including fertilizing, pruning, pesticide management. When the fruit is ready for harvest, it is picked by hand and then they go through a hot water treatment to eliminate any fruit flies, or other types of issues(fungus).
- The crop is inspected by US managers – or locally trained managers., under US approval.
- Then they are packaged for export.
Describe the supply chain to the store shelf in Canada:
Once the inspection process is finished, the fruit is ready for export. Any fruit that does not meet the set standards will either be rejected at the processing facilities, or at the border where they are check again.
Mangoes coming to Canada are generally packed for air freight. They are then sent to food terminals across the country for distribution.
What is the power balance between the producer and seller?
There are several possible relationships between producer and seller, depending on the orchard. The US has implemented an inspection system which requires growers to follow certain protocols – overseen by US inspectors, or Mexican inspectors trained and hired by the US. The producer must follow their guidelines in order to have fruit accepted for export. There are also local sellers called ‘coyotes’ who buy directly from growers and act as a middle-man to buyers. Often this system will result in local sales, as opposed to export sales.
Can you recommend changes to the system to improve the balance?
- More Mexican governmental support for training and empowering local management of orchards will go a long way in creating a strong community based production system. Attention also needs to be paid to pressures of overuse of land to avoid draining the soil of its nutrients creating less viable land for the orchards.
- There are starting to be more local ‘supermarkets’ included in the production chain. This is creating internal system which directly benefits local communities.
References/Resources:
https://www.marketlinks.org/sites/default/files/resource/files/ML6076_mr_109_mexico_mango_vc_analysis.pdf
http://www.scielo.org.mx/pdf/remexca/v11n7/2007-0934-remexca-11-07-1633-en.pdf
https://cubetoronto.com/canada/where-do-mangos-in-canada-come-from/