Manbulloo secures mango export deal with Walmart subsidiary Sam’s Club

American consumers are going to devour thousands of tonnes of Australian mangoes after one of the country’s biggest producers of the tropic fruit struck a major export deal with Walmart.

Manbulloo managing director Marie Piccone

One of Australia’s largest mango producers has struck a deal with US supermarket giant Walmart to ramp up the export of its tropical fruit.

In a trial Manbulloo Ltd exported several tonnes of R2E2 mangoes each week in November and December last year to Walmart’s retail warehouse chain Sam’s Club in California.

In a new export deal Manbulloo and its US distributor Giumarra will increase the volume of mangoes exported to Sam’s Club next season, initially to California, which will be in addition to existing sales to supermarket chains and online platforms.

Manbulloo quality manager Scott Ledgee packing NT mangoes for export to the US.

The agreement was struck with the help of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) through its $72.7m Agribusiness Expansion Initiative sparked by the impact of the pandemic and the need to find new markets.

Manbulloo’s managing director Marie Piccone said they were pleased with the outcome of the first seasonal program with its new US partner during the southern summer season.

“The Sam’s Club program went really well, we shipped our last direct box of premium R2E2 mangoes to the USA on January 4,” she said.

“The team at Austrade have provided tremendous assistance to us throughout the pandemic, allowing us to both maintain and increase our place in existing markets but also diversify into new ones.”

Ms Piccone said the US market has been open for a little over four years.

“It started out as zero and is now hundreds of tonnes and we believe there is so much potential for thousands of tonnes to be exported to the US,” she said.

“It’s become a significant export market for us.”

With its head office in Brisbane, Manbulloo is the largest producer of the Kensington Pride and R2E2 mango varieties in Australia.

It was established in 2005 and Manbulloo has two farms in the Northern Territory and five in Queensland, with mangoes harvested from mid-September until March depending on the region. Their oldest and largest farm, in Katherine, is home to 65,000 mango trees.

Manbulloo has developed a strong presence in the domestic market and is a major supplier of premium mangoes exclusively to Coles supermarkets and also overseas.

Manbulloo managing director Marie Piccone

However, the company faced the prospect of being disconnected from its export markets when border restrictions hit in 2020.

It invested in tracking technology which can monitor the quality, temperature and ripeness of fruit as it is being transported, while the company engaged in a proactive digital marketing campaign overseas,

Minister Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said it was no surprise that Australian mangoes are being welcomed “with wide arms” across the globe.

“They are quite simply the best in the world,” he said.

“This is more evidence we are getting the settings right. Our farmers, fishers, foresters and food and beverage producers can go about their business and be confident of finding new international customers and markets and diversifying their production base with the help of this targeted, rapid-response program.

“We will always have the backs of Australia’s agribusiness sector.”