Mangos from Ecuador on the move
A few days ago, a ship carrying sought-after cargo set off from the harbour in Ecuador. Among the goods are some of the first Ecuadorian mangos of the season; the 'Tommy Atkins' variety. They come from Joe Roman Corenel's farm Tres Marias, whose mango harvest has been prepared for shipment over the past few days.
"Rarely has Tommy been so consistent," said Volker Schmidt, our agricultural engineer, who visited Joe's farm shortly before harvest. What does he mean by that? "The mango tree blossoms up to 4 times a year," he explained. "The fruit emerges from these blooms. This year, blooms 1 and 2 are very close together, which means that more fruit can be harvested at one time. Usually the producer will only collect the quantity required to fill a container from mid-November."
Volker Schmidt was able to make an up-to-date judgment of the season at Joe's Farm; fruit size, ripeness levels and expected harvest yields were important starting points. Volker even examined Joe's very own packaging plant on the farm. Having your own packaging plant is a rarity amongst organic mango producers in Ecuador. They often have to initially lease from conventional stations.
Joe's mango farm is located in southern Ecuador, near the coastal town of Machala and just a few kilometres from the border with Peru. The climate here is rather dry, which proves advantageous for the organic mangos; the lower the humidity, the fewer problems there are with fungi.
Joe converted his 122 hectare finca to organic farming 10 years ago and has since only grown organic mangos. The mango specialist cultivates four different varieties on his farm: mostly Keitt and Tommy Atkins and on the rest of the fields he grows the Nam Dok Mai and Ataulfo varieties.
The ship should arrive at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands towards the end of the third week of November. The tasty fruits will then be ready for sale.
Volker Schmidt was able to make an up-to-date judgment of the season at Joe's Farm; fruit size, ripeness levels and expected harvest yields were important starting points. Volker even examined Joe's very own packaging plant on the farm. Having your own packaging plant is a rarity amongst organic mango producers in Ecuador. They often have to initially lease from conventional stations.
Joe's mango farm is located in southern Ecuador, near the coastal town of Machala and just a few kilometres from the border with Peru. The climate here is rather dry, which proves advantageous for the organic mangos; the lower the humidity, the fewer problems there are with fungi.
Joe converted his 122 hectare finca to organic farming 10 years ago and has since only grown organic mangos. The mango specialist cultivates four different varieties on his farm: mostly Keitt and Tommy Atkins and on the rest of the fields he grows the Nam Dok Mai and Ataulfo varieties.
The ship should arrive at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands towards the end of the third week of November. The tasty fruits will then be ready for sale.
Tags: Ecuador (GB), Mangos (GB), Tres Marias (GB), Volker Schmidt (GB)
