Mangosteen or Garcinia mangostana is an evergreen tree indigenous to the humid tropics in South East Asia and currently grown commercially in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, and Cambodia. Known for its unique and exquisite taste, it is also grown in India, Sri Lanka and Central America. Production is seasonal and it normally takes about 6 years to bear, therefore it is not surprising that most of the plants are grown as a mixed crop with other fruit or tree types. Trade information on the mangosteen is limited. It is also categorized together with mango and guava under Harmonized System Code 080450. Many studies have been conducted on the medicinal and pharmaceutical properties of mangosteen as it contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. There are already processed products in the market such as freeze-dried mangosteens from fresh fruit and xanthone powder extracted from the fruit rind for this purpose.
Recent records have shown the Thailand is the main producer and exporter of mangosteens in Asia. Other countries in the region such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam are relatively stable in area and production, catering more for the domestic market. Exports are mainly to the Chinese market with some to Europe, US, Australia and some Middle Eastern countries, with demand particularly from the Asian diaspora. However, the outlook for mangosteen looks promising considering the growing demand from China and other Western countries. In 2020, it was reported that Thailand has about 70,900 ha grown with mangosteens, followed by Indonesia 31,000 ha, Vietnam 7,200 ha and Malaysia 3,400 ha, with production at 350,000 mtons, 320,000 mtons, 37,00 mtons and 9,000 mtons respectively.
Managing fruit quality remains a challenge in mangosteen production. Challenges include fruit quality which is affected by occurrences of gummy exudates or gamboges and flesh translucency. These undesirable attributes are due to uncertain weather conditions, especially too much rain and imbalances in plant nutrition as well. The emphasis for mangosteen production has to be focused on good cultivars, improving yields, quality management and detection devices such as scanners to reduce the occurrence of gamboges and translucent fruits and off-season production.
Mr. Yacob Ahmad recently shared his understanding of the mangosteen situation in South-East Asia in his online keynote address during the ‘International seminar on exotic and underutilized crops: Priorities and Emerging Trends’, organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture, India, on 17 to 19 October 2023. His presentation was a collaboration with Dr. Ellina Mansyah, from the Research Center for Horticulture and Estate Crops, National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia and Mr. Hieu Nguyan Thanh, Research from the Southern Horticulture Research Center, Vietnam.
Mr. Yacob reiterated that mangosteen cultivation has good prospects to be expanded noting that there are still limited supplies for domestic consumption in some producing countries. Research and development to improve productivity and quality should also be priorities with aggressive promotion for both for the domestic and export markets. Mangosteen also makes a good fruit type in a mixed cropping system.