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Territory mangoes have made the lengthy but successfuljourney from Katherine to Los Angeles, as the first Aussie mangoes arrive on USshelves for the season.

The Kensington Pride variety mangoes have been grown andexported from Katherine by Manbulloo to their US supermarket customers, theresult of four years perfecting their supply chain and perseverance, supportedby the Department of Primary Industry and Resources.

Technicalsupport to mango growers and exporters on market access, packaging and logisticshas been developed through a 2013-2017 project which ultimately developed themango export market to the USA for the first time.

Whilethe Northern Territory produces and supplies over half of Australias mangoes,which is worth nearly $90 million to the Territory in the domestic market, veryfew are exported overseas, as it takes substantial planning and persistence toconsistently supply high-quality fruit to international markets.

The Australian delicacy is very attractive to the discerningAmerican customer and Manbulloo have spent significant time and resources toensure their mangoes go from farm to consumer while maintaining a qualityNorthern Territory mango experience.

Last week Manbulloo mangoes were on display at PMA FreshSummit in Anaheim, California, one of the biggest international fresh produceand floral trade marketing conventions, where 22,000 delegates from 60countries were able to see, taste and talk about Northern Territory mangoes.

Manbulloo also export their mangoes to China, South Korea,Japan and Canada. The 2019 Northern Territory mango season, based on currentindustry forecast, is on track for a 4% increase on 2018.

As stated by Minister for Primary Industry and Resources,Paul Kirby:

Like laksa and fishing, mangoes are an absolute Territoryfavourite, were known here in the NT for our high quality fruit, and itsfantastic to see these reach the shelves of US supermarkets.

Our domestic mango exports are extremely strong supplyingover 50% of Australian mangoes, and the perseverance of growers like Manbullooto consistently break into international markets is a reflection of the qualityof the product and processes.

The Territory posted an extremely pleasing recordinternational export balance in 2019, and while mangoes might not have been ourtop export, they might well be our tastiest.

As stated by Manbulloo Supply Chain Manager and AMIAdirector, Karl Gygar:

Were really proud not only of our domestic product, but toalso our international export operations. Our Quality Manager Scott Ledgeractually travelled to the US to monitor our first consignments this year.

International export, particularly in the case of the US,is extremely hard work but it is also extremely rewarding when you get yoursupply chain right, and are able to deliver high-quality fruit around theworld.

Every country has different requirements and protocols andwere pleased to have worked with the Department of Primary Industry andResources during this project, which sees our fruit in LA, and at the FreshFruit Summit.