Storage: Fruit picked at the appropriate stage - "red stage"- have a shelf life of 2 to 3 weeks at ambient or room temperature. After that period the cortex or shell hardens and it is difficult to open the fruit.

After sorting, the fruits may be carefully placed in a well-ventilated room or packed in wooden boxes of 20 to 35 kg capacity. When stored at room temperature of 25.35°C, the fruits have a shelf life of 5-7 days. At low temperature storage of 13°C, the fruits may remain fresh for two weeks. Fruits may be kept for four weeks at 13°C by coating or waxing the whole fruit. Weight loss can be retarded when fruits are individually wrapped with cling wrap, without affecting sweetness, aroma and overall flavour.

Boxed mangosteens stored in cold room

For fresh market, mangosteen fruits are usually stored in cold rooms at 5ºC and RH 85%. Under this condition the fruits can be kept for 4 weeks without any deterioration. The shelf life however, can be extended to 6 weeks if fruit is stored at 10°C. According to some reports, ripe mangosteens keep well for 3 to 4 weeks in storage at 4.44º-12.78ºC. Trials in India have shown that optimum conditions for cold storage are temperatures of 3.89º-5.56º C and relative humidity of 85 to 90%, which maintain quality for 49 days. It is recommended that the fruits be wrapped in tissue paper and packed 25-to-the-box in light wooden crates with excelsior padding to minimise cold damage.

Transport: Type of transportation depends on the distance travelled, length of storage period and the cost involved. Fruits picked slightly unripe have been shipped from Burma to the United Kingdom at 10º-12.78º C with fruit freshness and quality remain intact.

Refrigerated container lorries for transporting mangosteen

(Source: C.P. Starlanes Co..Ltd, Thailand)