Lime Update
Mexican lime volumes rose from 534 truckloads week ending 6/8 to 880 truckloads for the week ending Saturday 6/15. This was a massive increase as was expected after the weather cleared up following a couple of weeks of rain. Weather in Veracruz is forecasted to be nice the rest of the week so we expect volumes to continue heavy. Prices are cheap and you can always find somebody cheaper but quality is the key to success with these summer limes. Diligent grading out of skin defects followed by an effective forced air cooling to stabilize and give a long shelf life is the key to putting up a premium pack. Not everyone has the technique or the forced air system to accomplish this. Sizing is concentrating in the 175s and 200s with 110s and 250s being light on the manifests. Fruit is moving well but supplies are heavy. We would like to commit to ads so please include us in you ad quoting and run opportunities by us.
The number of stores on ad on limes rose from 1,982 last week to 2,788 stores for the week ending 6/20 at an average retail price of $0.25 per unit. There were also 341 stores on ad at an average of $0.43 per pound. There was only one store on an organic lime ad at 50 cents per each reported by the USDA specialty crop market news survey of more than 400 retailers.
Mango Crop Update
We are in week 25 now. Kent variety mango volumes are booming and Kents will be the main variety going forward until mid-August when Keitts become the main variety to finish the season. See the Arrival Volume Chart below. Volumes of ‘Round only’ mangos reached almost 3 million boxes per week last week and are expected to stay there for the next 2 months! The flavor of the Kents is amazing. We expect this to drive strong repeat purchase behavior as it usually does. Prices are cheap, volumes are heavy, sizing is improving, and quality is fantastic. The next 2 months are perfect for heavy mango promotions on Kents and Keitts.
Honey Mangos (Ataulfos) are past the peak and starting to fall in volume quickly in the main region of Nayarit but just starting to pack in Northern Sinaloa. See the pics of the first non-hot water treated Ataulfos being packed below. These will start arriving over the weekend.
Please plan to carry a jumbo size round mangos 5s/6s/7s (PLU 3114 or 3488) as an additional SKU when we get into the Keitts in late July through September.
See pics below of our main mango Labels and note the 24Lb Display Pack that improves stability, ripening performance, and reduces labor at the DC and store level.
Stores on ad on conventional mangos fell from 10,612 stores to 7,483 stores on ad for the week ending 6/20. Weighted average retail price was $0.92 per piece. Stores on organic mango ads fell from 1,822 last week to 448 stores this week with an average retail price of $1.43 each. This average retail price is a mix of Round and Honey Mangoes which tend to have smaller sizing. The USDA unfortunately does not separate round and yellow mangoes in the retail ad data. See the USDA Data on Retail Mango Ads chart below for detailed data by geographic region of the country.
We are making a trip to India next week to research Indian mango opportunities. Please contact us if you are interested in looking at a premium variety program.
