By Francisco Seva Rivadulla, international agri-food journalist.

Quality is an essential factor in the mango industry. To learn more about the quality culture of this fruit, we interviewed engineer Armando Gerstl, an agri-food consultant specialized in the mango industry.

Regarding whether there is a culture of quality in the mango industry, Gerstl notes that “first of all, we must place ourselves in the different links of the chain to carry out an integral analysis of quality. Therefore, we will evaluate the process from the perspective of the mango producer, the packer, the distributor, the market, and, finally, the consumer."

“The production chain begins with the work of the producer in his plots, who must adjust to the demands of the packer in terms of variety, fruit uniformity, and degree of ripeness,” he said.

Armando Gerstl Guevara

“Although the producer strives to manage his plantations adequately, there are still multiple aspects to improve, since in most cases he does not have the necessary instruments or equipment, both for crop management and efficient fruit harvesting,” he stresses.

He says that “the packing companies are in charge of sorting, classifying, disinfecting and, in some cases, applying heat treatments, in addition to packing the mangoes in boxes designed for transport. From an organoleptic point of view, these companies receive products that have gone through the established quality protocols; otherwise, it would be impossible for distributors to agree to make the purchase.”

Professional training

Gerstl pointed out that the retail market represents the end point of this whole chain of efforts since it is where the consumer decides whether or not to buy the mango on the shelf.

“At this stage, it is essential to invest in staff training, so that market workers do not display damaged products and can replace those that, over time, have deteriorated. It is common to find fruit with physical damage; a connoisseur can easily identify it and choose one in good condition,” he said.

“However, an inexperienced person might not notice it and decide not to take the product. It is also important to educate consumers about properly selecting mangoes and their potential to be used in the kitchen,” Gerstl added.

Digitalization in the mango industry

Regarding digitalization in the mango industry, Gerstl noted that “the speed of adoption of digital technologies in the industry has not been as fast as the market demands. However, we must all know its implementation will soon be unavoidable.”

“It must be clear to the producer that information is not only valuable to him, but also to his customer. Documenting the tasks, applications, doses, and products used in each of their lots is essential to understand what happens in the field from a technical, accounting, and financial approach,” the expert stressed.

The consultant pointed out that “having the life sheets of the plantations, from the moment of their establishment, should be a key objective for mango growers. From this basis, it is possible to move towards digitizing this information to accompany each order with its respective life sheet. This should detail the origin of the mangoes, the work carried out in the plots, the inputs used, and the personnel involved in the process.”

In the same context, he pointed out that “in most packing houses, traceability and quality control of the mango packing process are still handled in a fundamental way. An important gap to overcome is incorporating digital tools to manage and access information immediately, facilitating timely decision making.”

Currently, the distributor and the retail market are the ones who, from a digital point of view, are more armored, since they handle not only products, but an endless list of items. However, there must be an accompaniment of the product to its placement on the supermarket shelf,” Gerstl commented.