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1.1 Economic and social impact of mangoes

Global production of mangoes is concentrated mainly in Asia and more precisely in India that produced in 12 Million Mt. Mangoes are grown in 85 countries and 63 countries produce more than 1 000 Mt a year. Total world production (Table 2) was 24 420 116 Mt in 1999 (FAOSTAT, 2000), where mangoes play an integral part in their lives not only by being rich nutrient source but also by serving as a common good that is shared in the culture, the life style and the religion. In 1960 mangoes were not commonly known among the consumers outside of the tropics and there was virtually no international trade of fresh fruit.


In recent years, mangoes have become well established as fresh fruit and processed products in the global market. India is still by far the major producer of mangoes in the world; although, it's relative share in the world production has been gradually declining. In the United States of America fruit eaters now regularly choose mangoes over apricots, cherries and plums. World demand for mango is now increasing however, particularly from temperate countries, where mangoes are rapidly gaining in popularity. The increase in mango production in non-traditional mango-producing areas has been notable and includes parts of Asia, West Africa, Australia, South America and Mexico. International trade of mangoes is dominated by varieties like "Keitt" and "Tommy Atkins" (Emex, 2000).

 

Table 2. World mango production by country (Source: FAOSTAT, 2000)

Country

Production (Mt)

Country

Production (Mt)

Country

Production (Mt)

China

2 561 522

Gambia

720

Panama

5 800

Antigua and Barbuda

1 300

Ghana

4 000

Paraguay

29 000

Argentina

1 800

Grenada

1 800

Peru

191 495

Australia

37 000

Guadeloupe

1 032

Philippines

931 500

Bangladesh

186 760

Guam

50

Puerto Rico

17 375

Belize

1 000

Guinea

84 720

Réunion

5 000

Benin

12 000

Guinea-Bissau

4 500

Saint Lucia

27 000

Bolivia

7 500

Guyana

3 200

Saint Vincent/Grenadines

1 400

Brazil

600 000

Haiti

225 000

Samoa

4 900

Burkina Faso

5 000

Honduras

5 400

Senegal

75 236

Cambodia

35 000

India

12 000 000

Seychelles

30

Cameroon

350

Indonesia

801 777

Sierra Leone

6 500

Cape Verde

4 500

Iran, Islamic Rep of

10 656

Somalia

900

Cayman Islands

36

Israel

21 500

South Africa

37 731

Central African Republic

9 300

Jamaica

5 000

Sri Lanka

86 240

Chad

32 000

Kenya

24 000

Sudan

190 000

Colombia

98 000

Laos

2 100

Tanzania, United Rep of

189 000

Congo, Dem Republic of

210 000

Madagascar

206 000

Thailand

1 250 000

Cook Islands

2 700

Malawi

34 000

Togo

10

Costa Rica

13 139

Malaysia

23 000

Trinidad and Tobago

430

Cuba

43 002

Mali

50 000

United Arab Emirates

9 655

Côte d'Ivoire

9 000

Martinique

197

United States of America

2 720

Dominica

1 750

Mexico

1 449 478

Venezuela, Rep of Bolivia

130 180

Dominican Republic

180 000

Montserrat

140

Viet Nam

188 557

Ecuador

68 693

Morocco

20

Wallis and Futuna Is

12

Egypt

231 000

Mozambique

36 000

Yemen

16 262

El Salvador

18 000

Nigeria

729 000

Zimbabwe

450

Fiji Islands

246

Oman

12 000

   

French Guinea

391

Pakistan

916 454

   

 

Processed mango is an exotic product in the US and gaining in popularity. Over the years the imports of this product have been increasing. Importers in the US think imports will increase even more in the coming years. Americans prefer canned mangoes because they like to have something out of the ordinary. Additionally, mangoes enjoy an ethnic market among Asian and Hispanic Americans.

The top supplier of canned mangoes in 1993 was Mexico, which held 50 percent of the value and 45 percent of the imported volume. World production of mango in 1997 was 22 million tonnes. India was then the world's largest producer accounting for almost 50 percent of total world production, China and Mexico contributed with 9 percent and 6 percent respectively. World imports of fresh mangoes are expected to increase by 53 percent to 459 000 tonnes by 2005 due to the increasing consumption worldwide.

Processed tropical fruits trade transactions, mostly by developing countries amounted to approximately US$1 500 in 1997. Asia accounts for over 85 percent of the world exports of processed tropical fruits. The consumption of processed mango products such as mango-flavoured beverages either singly flavoured or in multi-flavoured is rapidly increasing, particularly in Europe. The demand for processed mango pulp (puree) has similarly expanded. In 1996, the world production of mango pulp and juice amounted to 807 000 tonnes and 136 780 tonnes respectively. Exports were only 5.7 percent (45 951 tonnes) and 4.9 percent (6 752 tonnes) of the production. Major suppliers of mango pulp (13 to 18 °Brix) and concentrates (28 to 32° Brix) are Peru, India and Ecuador.Other processed mango products: dried, jam, jellies, syrup and other retail-packed products are fast gaining markets and commanding better prices than other tropical fruits.

Organically grown mangoes are currently produced in South Africa and India and exported in fresh frozen form. In Thailand, about 301 946 hectares are planted to mango, which are about 26 percent of the total land area allocated to fruit trees planting. Major planting areas are located in the northeastern and northern regions accounting for 34 percent and 28 percent of the total mango area. Thailand grows over 100 native mango cultivars. Thailand promotes a crossbreeding program to develop an "industrial mango" through breed selection. The aim is to produce cultivars appropriate for processing or for raw or ripe consumption. One of the persistent problems in mango is damage caused by insects and diseases, which are now being addressed by a number of researchers in Entomology and Plant Pathology (NFIT, 1999).

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