by Tim Linden
08/18/2006
Mangos are said to be the most consumed fruit in the world with the United States lagging behind because it does not have domestic production or widespread interest.
That is not entirely true. The Coachella Valley in California is home to two commercial mango operations, both of which sell their fruit through the Corona College Heights Orange & Lemon Association in Corona, CA. This year there will be about 275,000 cartons produced with a little less than half of them being certified organic. The crop is down a bit from last year because of growing conditions, but the organic certification is new so this may well be the first time ever that the United states has produced its own organic mangos.
A few U.S. growers have dabbled in mangos before with the most notable production coming from Florida in the 1980s. However, Hurricane Andrew wiped out that acreage and it has not come back in any commercial volume, according to those involved in California's production.
Linden Anderson, who planted the first California orchard and currently manages all of Coachella Valley's commercial mango acreage for two different growers, said that there are a handful of one- and two-acre plots in Coachella and San Diego County that supply mangos that are sold in farmers' market, "but I believe these are the only two commercial operations in the country."
One is Three Flags Ranch which was planted in the late 1980s and is currently undergoing an ownership transition, so Mr. Anderson would not divulge the owners of that land. The other ranch is Ag Accounting LLC, owned by longtime produce industry veteran Howard Marguleas. Mr. Anderson gives Mr. Marguleas all the credit for bringing mangos to California.
Mr. Marguleas said that the idea to grow mangos came from Israel. While with Sun World, he had a close relationship with growers in Israel whereby there was a constant exchange of ideas and varieties.
"I went to Israel once and saw mangos growing on the edge of the Dead Sea in a desert environment," said Mr. Marguleas. That must have been 23 or 24 years ago. I figured if they could grow them there, we could grow them in Coachella." Mr. Marguleas put in 10 acres of trees soon after in 1984 and began testing different varieties.
"We probably had 60 or 70 different varieties in those 10 acres," said Ted Johnson, who manages ranch operations for Ag Accounting. Eventually he chose the Keitt variety.
Some acres were grown under the Sun World" banner, but those were eventually removed. About eight years ago, Mr. Johnson said that Ag Accounting began seriously planting Keitt mangos under its own banner. Three Flags Ranch, following Mr. Marguleas's lead, started its commercial acreage in 1988 and currently grows about 150 acres. Ag Accounting will eventually have that much acreage, but currently it has 60 bearing acres and another 48 that will begin producing next year.
"We currently have 48,000 trees in the ground at various stages," said Mr. Marguleas.
Though the acreage from the two ranches is all in the Coachella Valley, Mr. Anderson said that there are 35 miles between the two ranches and a three-week difference in harvest time. This year the Three Flags Ranch had less-than-desirable growing conditions, so its crop is down from 200,000 boxes last year to closer to 125,000 this year, according to Mr. Anderson. Mr. Johnson said that Ag Accounting should produce about the same 150,000 cartons it sold last year, with about 125,000 being organic.
The firm started to transition the acreage three years ago and received its organic certification just two weeks ago. It does not appear that we lost any production [due to the switch]," he said. But our production costs have gone up especially in weed control."
The key to the California crop, according to all involved, is the Keitt variety. I've had mango people all over the world taste our fruit and to a man they all say it is the best-tasting fruit they have ever had," said Mr. Marguleas.
Mr. Anderson echoed those sentiments. Lots of people who know mangos have tasted it and tell us it is the best-tasting mango they have ever had."
Mr. Anderson said that the Keitt variety is known for its good taste, which is largely due to its texture. It has no fiber compared to the fruit from Mexico or Central America," he said.
The biggest drawback is that the Keitt variety does not turn a golden yellow or red like many of the other mango varieties. Many consumers are not used to this but John Demshki, president of Corona-College Heights, said, Over the last few years, we have educated people that a green mango is good. As long as you eat it when it is soft, it will be the best mango you ever had."
This year, all the principals in the California mango deal are expecting to get a big marketing boost because of the organic certification. This should open the market to new consumers, who have not had much of an opportunity to buy mangos because the organic production is limited. Mr. Demshki said that should also help sales as at least the organic California mango will not be competing against the typically low-priced Mexican fruit.
The California mango deal got underway in the middle of August and will last into October, according to the Corona-College Heights executive. The timing of the crop offers the marketers an advantage as far as quality, but they also have to compete against very low-cost alternatives. Mr. Anderson said that the California crop hits the market just as Mexico is winding down.
"The quality at the tail end of the Mexican deal suffers a bit, so that's a big advantage for us," he said.
On the other hand, Mr. Demshki said that the tail end of the Mexico deal also produces the lowest prices of the year. He said that some conventional buyers are not quite ready to pay the higher prices that the California fruit demands. But he added that within a week or two, good fruit from Brazil will be hitting the market, which tends to be higher priced.
While the California mango deal is in its relative infancy, no one expects it to grow exponentially. Mr. Johnson said that mangos are very susceptible to frost, so there is very little land that is suitable for mango production.
Mr. Anderson added that most of the land in Coachella that could be good mango land is already being used for early grapes, which typically have a good return so growers are not anxious to switch crops. Mangos, with the five-year waiting period between planting and first production, require a heavy up-front investment.
Mr. Johnson said that Mr. Marguleas was the visionary and had the wherewithal to stick with his dream, and he now could reap the benefits for years to come. If all goes well, his acreage should produce more than 200,000 cartons of mangos next year with continued increases in the coming years.
