Fears for dried mango market in EU countries

European supermarkets are exploiting cheap labour in the rest of Africa to produce dried mangoes, to the detriment of South African producers. This was the conclusion reached by Jaco Fivaz, a mango farmer in Limpopo who sits on the South African Mango Growers’ Association board.

Conducting a survey of facilities in South Africa and Mozambique, Fivaz found that all were struggling to keep their doors open due to market prices being lower than production costs.

Speaking at the Subtrop Marketing Symposium, held in White River, Mpumalanga, on 8 November, Fivaz lamented the “hypocrisy” of European buyers that ask for Fair Trade accreditation before buying dried mangoes, but then offered prices that were too low to support fair wages.

He noted that in Ghana, the labour cost to produce a kilogram of dried mangoes was R7, compared to R28 in South Africa. “There is nothing fair about paying R300/t for dried mangoes in Burkina Faso, while labour gets paid R39 per day,” he said.

He added that when he pointed this out to one of the buyers, they delisted him as a supplier.

Fivaz sketched a picture of global mango production and trade where farmers who planted mangoes for the dried fruit market faced a bleak future.

Total global mango production was 57 million tons this year, and is estimated to reach 60 million tons in 2026. South Africa produces only 0,1% of the total supply, but is the world’s seventh-largest exporter of mangoes. The largest importer is the US, followed by the EU.

The EU imports around 7 000t of dried mangoes a year, mostly from Burkina Faso, Ghana and South Africa. This market grows at around 6% each year, with France showing the highest growth.

Fivaz said that although these figures seemingly pointed to potential markets for dried mangoes, this was not the case if farmers expected fair prices.

European buyers were offering around R129/kg this year, while South African producers required at least R173/kg to cover costs.

Meanwhile, developing countries like Zambia, the Philippines, Thailand and Burkina Faso were increasing the number of drying facilities to capitalise on this market growth. “Our competition is massive. Every drying facility I have spoken to in the last month in South Africa has carry-over stock, and is considering closing their doors,” he said.

Fivaz therefore advised farmers to not neglect the fresh mango market for the sake of dried mangoes.

Also at the symposium, Emile du Plessis, a senior economist at Nedbank, meanwhile said that mango exports to South Africa’s neighbouring countries, as well as the Middle East, were showing promise. Exports however only absorbed 12% of national production, indicating much room for growth. –

SOUTH AFRICAN FACILITIES STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE AS PRODUCTION COSTS OUTSTRIP PRICES