The mango in French-speaking West Africa

Abstract

Introduction. The mango tree today, very appreciated in West Africa for its fruit and its shade, is, however, of recent introduction in Africa. The article presents the history of its expansion in the zone. Mango tree expansion in West Africa. Originating from India, the mango tree was reported for the first time in West Africa, in Senegal, in 1824. It was at the end of the xixth century that the mango trees began to have a significant distribution, especially in the coastal zones. Their extension became significant during the first half of the xxth century. An Amélie mango tree introduced in Mali around the 1890s allowed the grafting of many trees, which were widely distributed in the bordering countries. At the end of the 1940s, collections were gradually established in the entire zone and, during the decade 1970–1980, every country in French-speaking West Africa had at least a collection of mango trees. Export trends. Mali was the first country to export mangos towards Europe, around the end of the 1960s. It was followed by Burkina Faso, Guinea, Senegal, and especially the Côte d’Ivoire, whose exports, of approximately 2 500 t at the beginning of the 1990s, were multiplied by 4.5 in 2000. This fast growth of exports from the Côte d’Ivoire profited from the presence of a maritime front and of a mass effect created by pineapple and banana exports. Amélie for a long time constituted the main part of the exports of Mali, Burkina Faso and the Côte d’Ivoire. However, since 1971, experimental shipments of colored mangos have been successfully realized. With mango consumption becoming democratized in Europe, the choice of exported varieties was gradually tightened: Amélie, at the beginning of the harvest season, then Kent, Keitt and Palmer. Parallel to this varietal evolution, the packaging techniques were gradually modernized.