“The weather continued to favour this particular mango season”
“The weather seems to have blessed India’s mango season this year. Yashwant Chakve Patil, director of Indian fruit exporter AA Reyach International, states that although the majority of their mangoes are sold on the domestic market, they also export a significant amount to the USA:
“Compared to last year, the cultivation period for mangoes in India was better because the weather continued to favour this particular season. We had not encountered any problems until this point. There currently is a great deal of demand for mangoes in the domestic market. Because we receive better prices in the domestic market, we sell more than 60% of our mangoes here. For exports, we are focusing more on the USA market as we had a good volume of exports to the USA last year. Last year, we had also sent some trial shipments to one of the largest supermarkets in the USA, which are also famous globally. So, this year we intend to send large volumes to them in addition to other customers.”
Although the Red Sea crisis does affect the mango season, the majority of the mango exports of AA Reyach is sent via airplanes, which have their own challenges according to Patil. “Everyone is facing logistical challenges these days as a result of the Red Sea crisis, particularly in terms of finance, as sea freight prices have increased by 200-300 per cent. However, air transport accounts for the majority of our volume. Therefore, it is difficult to predict with certainty what will occur in March or April, but we have some separate plans for it. Challenges with air freight aren’t new, as we see various hardships with it every year, and it is for us to solve the puzzle.”
“Every year, prices for our mangoes increase by four to six per cent. This is something that our clients are well aware of. However, the Red Sea tension can quicken our clients’ pulse this year. We are working hard and simply ask for nature’s blessing. We honor the environment and take good care of our people, infrastructure and trees, which should enable us to continue depending on the availability of resources and the time of year,” Patil concludes.”
*This article is excerpted from freshplaza.com website, published 23 February 2024