Malaga province growers show off their whopping mangoes

Mango growers in the Axarquía area of Malaga province have taken to social media to show off some of their whopping mangoes. The area is in the midst of its mango harvest and after almost five years of drought and two disastrous harvests, the tropical fruit sector is booming again in the east or Malaga province and on the neighbouring Costa Tropical in Granada province, thanks to abundant rainfall in recent times. The harvest is proving historic, with three times the volume of 2024, exceeding 30,000 tonnes and likely to reach around 35,000 by the end of November.

In recent days numerous growers have posted images on social media of giant mangoes harvested in the area. These are mainly Keitt and Osteen varieties, two of the most abundant grown in the eastern region. Carlos Martín, from Frigiliana, shared a photo of an Osteen mango weighing 2,253 grams.

"That's enough to feed not only a family, but a large family," he wrote on his Facebook page. Meanwhile, on pages such as Triana Corazón de la Axarquía and Axarquíaplus, Osteen mangoes weighing 1,919 grams have been seen, which is enormous for a variety whose average size is between 400 and 700 grams.

Even larger are the Keitt variety, which usually averages between 450 and 1,000 grams. José, a resident of Triana (Vélez-Málaga), harvested a mango weighing 2,823.5 grams, the record so far among those who have taken to social media to show off their giant fruit.

Eduardo Ariza, a retired farmer from Nerja, has harvested a fruit of the same variety weighing 2,147 grams. Another farmer from Vélez-Málaga, David Ruiz, was not far behind, showing off a Keitt mango weighing 2,005 grams. Among the comments from followers of the pages, there are those encouraging an official competition to reward the heaviest mango in the Axarquía, similar to the charity auction held for "huevo de toro" tomatoes in the Guadalhorce valley.

The heaviest mango certified by the Guinness World Records weighed 4,250 grams. This record was set by a Colombian farming couple in the town of Boyacá in 2020.