The Most Popular Fruit in the World

It's probably safe to say, that when asked which fruit isstate of Nayarit. As a note of interest, Fonatur has
the most popular fruit in the world, the majority ofrecently earmarked billions of dollars for a 15 year
Americans and Canadians would respond with applesdevelopment program that will include more than
or bananas. That response would be normal, but far20,000 new condos and villas with the associated
from accurate.infrastructure. This entire area is surrounded by mango
To the astonishment of most North Americans,orchards where approximately 1.5 million metric tons of
mangoes are consumed worldwide by a factor ofmangoes are grown annually, making Mexico the third
three to one over bananas and ten to one overlargest producer of mangoes after India and China.
apples. Although mangoes are still considered to beAfter vacationing in Vallarta two or three times a year
exotic fruits in America, ranking as number 24 of thefor 15 years we decided to move there in 1997 and
top 25 fruits consumed in the US, they are consideredmake Vallarta our permanent retirement destination.
to be staples in India, South Asia, China, and LatinWe bought our dream villa on the mountainside with a
America; often being referred to as "the king of thepanoramic view of Banderas Bay in an area known
fruits". Evidently, those in the many far corners of theas the Beverly Hills of Vallarta. One of our first
world have learned something that has yet to beprojects was to landscape the ½ acre
discovered in North America!mountainside lot. With an abundance of tropical flowers
There are over 2,000 different varieties of mangoesand fruit trees available, the choice of plants was
ranging in size from a few ounces to as much as fourdifficult and somewhat overwhelming.
pounds. One thing they all have in common is theirAfter living in the States for 55 years, we were
nutritional value; mangoes are a fantastic source ofvirtually oblivious to the qualities that mangoes had to
vitamins C and E, niacin, potassium, iron, and betaoffer. However, due to their abundance in the local
carotene which converts to vitamin A in the body.supermarkets, we decided to give them a try. To our
The fresh, ripe mango is a very juicy and sweet fruitsurprise, they were absolutely delicious; perhaps better
with a unique and delicious taste. Some mangoes havethan any fruit we'd ever had! A decade later, after
a soft and pulpy texture similar to an over-ripe plum,enjoying a constant supply of mangoes for ten years,
while others have a firmer flesh similar to that of ait's hard to imagine that we went a lifetime without
cantaloupe.enjoying mangoes and that so many other North
Mangoes are widely used in chutney, fruit bars, cerealAmericans have also missed out on this experience.
products, juices, pies, ice creams, and even milkOkay, back to the landscaping project. Since we were
shakes. Although a little messy due to their high juiceintroduced to the numerous beneficial qualities that the
content, they can be enjoyed simply by slicing the fruitmangoes offered, we decided to plant some mango
as you would a peach or pear.trees and were directed to a nursery in Nayarit, about
Okay, now that we know what the most popular fruit10 miles from home. The nursery was located on the
in the world is, we must determine from where in theedge of a huge mango orchard where mangoes grew
world these mangoes come. Mangoes are grownas far as the eye could see.
throughout the tropics but India is by far the largestThe owners of the orchard / nursery gave us a short
producer and consumer of mangoes in the world. Inpresentation on mangoes, briefly outlining the
fact, for more than 6,000 years, mango trees havedifferences between the varieties grown there. After
been a status symbol in India. Behind India are otherthe presentation, they asked us why we were buying
areas within South Asia and parts of Australia. Itmango trees. We informed them that we loved the
wasn't until the 19th century that mangoes weretaste of mangoes and were landscaping our new yard
introduced to parts of Africa, South America, Hawaii,and thought it would be nice to have fresh mangoes
and Mexico.available. As is so typical in Mexico, rather than selling
For years, India has been unsuccessfully negotiatingus some mango trees, they suggested we save the
the exportation of mangoes to the US, however justtime, hassle, and money and just help ourselves to the
recently some agreements have been finalized,mangoes. They pointed out to the orchard and
clearing the way for exportation of mangoes fromindicated that there were millions of mangoes and that
India to the US. In return, they will allow the US towe could have all that we wanted for free; they would
export peas, beans, almonds, and would you believe,even help us fill up the car if we needed help! We
Harley Davidson motorcycles to India. Of thosenever did buy those trees but do have an unlimited
mangoes that currently make their way to the US andsupply of those delicious mangoes!
Canada, approximately 80% come from Mexico withThat was one of our first lessons learned in Vallarta
the majority being grown in the Mexican state ofas it pertains to the Mexican hospitality. It's no wonder
Nayarit which is on the same latitude as Hawaii.that Puerto Vallarta was selected as the friendliest
Nayarit, one of Mexico's 31 states, is located along theresort destination in the world by a recent survey of
Pacific Ocean having its southern border with the stateConde Nast readers. One of the reasons for the
of Jalisco. The beautiful tourist destination andfriendliness of the area is probably due to its perfect
retirement community of Puerto Vallarta lies at theclimate. Not only perfect for mangoes, but with an
border of these two states with its downtown area oraverage daily temperature of 73°F for seven
El Centro located in Jalisco and Nuevo Vallarta locatedmonths of the year, it's perfect for its residents.
in Nayarit. Puerto Vallarta is located at the northernIn summarizing, if you're interested in sampling some of
end of the Mexican Riviera and just recently, Fonatur,the most popular fruit in the world, you might just want
the National Tourism and Development Board ofto visit the most popular resort destination in the world,
Mexico, has coined the term Riviera Nayarit for thatPuerto Vallarta, Mexico, and have some real fun while
section of pristine and majestic Pacific shoreline in thesipping your mango margarita!