The 'Ataúlfo' mango is a mangocultivar from Mexico.[1] Ataúlfo mangos are golden yellow and generally weigh between 6 and 10 ounces (170 and 280 g), with a somewhat sigmoid shape ("S"-shaped)[1] and a gold-yellow skin.[2] The flesh is not fibrous, and the pit is thin. They were named for grower Ataúlfo Morales Gordillo.[3] Since August 27, 2003, the Ataúlfo mango is one of the 18 Mexican Designations of Origin.[4]
The Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial) granted the designation of origin of this fruit to the government of Chiapas.[3] Along with the Manilita mango, it is a descendant of the Philippine mango cultivar introduced from the Philippines to Mexico before 1779 through the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade. It was crossed with other mango varieties, resulting in the Ataúlfo. Regardless, Ataúlfo remains a Philippine-type mango, characterized by being polyembryonic (as opposed to the Indian-type which is monoembryonic).[5]
In 2003, the Mexican government, through the Official Gazette, published Comunicado No. 14 – 2003 titled "Abstract of the application for the declaration (protection) of the Appellation of Origin: Mango Ataúlfo del Soconusco Chiapas", a declaration that the term『Mango Ataúlfo del Soconusco Chiapas』is an appellation of origin for a specific kind of mango fruit produced in several regions of Chiapas, Mexico[6] where the Ataúlfo mango was first grown.[3]
The fruit grows in warm, moist climates with summer rains, but monsoon temperatures must not decline to 5 °C.[citation needed] The proper temperature for this type of mango is 28 °C with rainfall between 1090–3000 mm annually, from April to October.[citation needed]
The Ataúlfo mangoes originate in the Mexican states of Michoacan, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Veracruz and Chiapas, and are sold between March and September.[2] Ataúlfo production was concentrated in the Soconusco coastal region. Overall, producer organizations estimated that there were 18,000 hectares of Ataúlfo mangoes in production in the state.[7]
There are several pests that influence the growth and production of the mangoes including fruit flies and mango seed weevil.[8]
Ataúlfo mangoes gained popularity in the United States beginning in the late 1990s,[9] though they have been a major crop in Mexico for decades.[3][1] As of 2009, they were the second-most popular variety of mango sold in the U.S., behind the Tommy Atkins.[10] As of 2018, they represented a little less than 20% of all mangoes imported into the U.S.[11]
Until 2014, Mexican Ataúlfo mangoes had not been sold in significant numbers in Europe because shipping them by air was prohibitively expensive.[12] In December 2014, shipments by sea began via one United Kingdom importer using timed pre-ripe harvesting combined with faster sea-shipping that enabled full mango ripening while in transit.[12] European customers are willing to pay significantly more than North American customers, if the mangos are of high quality and are sold ready-to-eat.[13]
