1048. From JIRCAS Southeast Asia Liaison Office: Thai Mangoes

This weekend, June 29, is International Tropical Day.

Thailand, which is a tropical region, is very rich in tropical fruits that are cheap and delicious. Today’s blog features Thai mangoes among such tropical fruits.

In April 2024, at the first auction of ripe mangoes produced in 2024 in Japan, one box containing two pieces was sold for a record 700,000 yen. It is believed that such mangoes originated in India and have been cultivated for at least 4,000 years. It is said that the name can be found in Buddhist scriptures. Today, more than 500 varieties of mango are grown around the world.

JIRCAS's Tropical Agriculture Research Front maintains a collection of mango genetic resources. In addition, a database of mango genetic resources is also available on our website.

https://www.jircas.go.jp/en/database/mango/mango-top

Mango production in the world

FAO statistics (FAOSTAT) summarize the world's production of mangoes, mangosteen, and guava, so it is not possible to get a detailed picture of mangoes alone, but the annual production of mangoes is estimated to be about 59 million tons.

By region, India ranked first with about 26 million tons (about 44% of the world's annual production), followed by Indonesia with about 4.1 million tons and China with 3.8 million tons (Thailand ranked 10th with about 1.4 million tons).

Production in 2022 （t）
1    India    26,299,000 
2    Indonesia    4,125,244 
3    China    3,800,000 
4    Pakistan    2,782,809 
5    Mexico    2,485,546 
6    Brazil    2,111,139 
7    Malawi    1,916,502 
8    Bangladesh    1,452,303 
9    Viet Nam    1,443,572 
10  Thailand    1,398,902 

Thai mango varieties

Most of the mangoes produced in Japan are of the Irwin variety, also known as apple mango. It should be noted that the Irwin variety is grown all over the world.

It seems that more than 60 varieties of mango are grown in Thailand, but when I walked through the morning market held every Friday on the campus of Kasetsart University, where the Southeast Asia Liaison Office is located, "KeowSavoy" and "Mahachanok" were being sold. KeowSavoy has a green skin and yellow flesh, and the flesh is a little tough. It has a crunchy texture and can be used in salads. Mahachanok has a reddish golden yellow color when ripe. The flesh is low in fiber and rich in flavor.

Incidentally, there are currently seven Thai mango varieties that can be imported into Japan: KeowSavoy (Keaw Sawoey), ChokeAnan, Nang Kangwan, Nam Dokmai, Pimsen Daeng, Mahachanok, and Rad.

Plant Protection Station, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries website (only in Japanese)
https://www.maff.go.jp/pps/j/law/houki/saisoku/saisoku_86_html_86.html

If you see Thai mangoes in Japan, please try them.

Contributor: KANAMORI Norihito, Southeast Asia Liaison Office