Mango drying systems in Mali
What the crop demands, what the country imposes, and what that means for capacity.
Sikasso grows more mango than Mali can eat or move, and the region is a thousand kilometres from the nearest port in any direction. Fresh export runs on a thin margin of refrigerated road haulage to Dakar or Abidjan that only the best fruit justifies. Everything else is a drying opportunity by default rather than by choice.
The situation in Mali
Two quite separate agricultural countries share one border. The south around Sikasso is humid, green and grows mango, cotton and cereals; the inland delta and the Sahel run on livestock and river fish. Both are a long way from a port — Dakar and Abidjan are each a multi-day haul — so anything sold beyond the region has to be stable at ambient temperature before it moves.
Growing regions. Sikasso and Koutiala in the south, the Niger inland delta around Mopti
What mango drying demands
Mango is the crop that makes the case for controlled drying on its own. It arrives in a six-week wall of fruit, prices collapse exactly when volume peaks, and a large share of the crop is never picked up at all. Dried at 65–70 °C to 12–14 % moisture it becomes a twelve-month product with an export market that already exists.
Harvest calendar
March to July, slightly longer than Burkina because the Sikasso zone is wetter and the varietal spread wider. Peak volume falls in May and June.
The working campaign window as the trade runs it. It shifts a fortnight either way with the rains.
Process parameters
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Drying temperature | 65–70 °C |
| Final moisture | 12–14 % |
| Yield (fresh : dried) | 10 : 1 |
| Cycle time | 16–20 h |
Sizing starting points from ordinary processing practice, not a validated recipe for your product. Confirm against your own intake and your buyer’s specification.
Worked sizing example
For a unit taking 5 tonnes of fresh product a day, at a yield of 10 : 1:
Illustrative figures calculated from the yield and campaign window above. They size a conversation; they do not describe any existing installation.
Fuel available in Mali
Cotton stalk from the Koutiala and Sikasso basin is the main resource. Rice husk from the Office du Niger is abundant but very ashy — blend it.
- Base load. Cotton stalk · Shea cake and shell · Rice husk
- Supplement. Corn cob · Groundnut shell · Sesame stalk · Dried mango peel
See all 27 fuels and their properties
Market and buyer requirements
European organic and fair-trade dried fruit buyers, several of whom already source Malian dried mango, plus a regional market in Bamako and Dakar. Certification is well established here relative to the region.
Explore further
The systems that hold this profile
Other crops in Mali
Meat · Fish · Shea · Shallot · Sesame
Mango drying elsewhere
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso · 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire · 🇬🇭 Ghana · 🇸🇳 Senegal · 🇬🇳 Guinea
Frequently asked questions
Why does Mali dry mango rather than export it fresh?
Distance. Sikasso is roughly a thousand kilometres from any port, so refrigerated haulage is only justified for the best fruit. Dried at 10 : 1 to 12–14 % moisture, the rest travels on an ordinary truck at ambient temperature and keeps for twelve months.
How long is the Malian mango season?
March to July, longer than Burkina’s because the Sikasso zone is wetter and carries a wider varietal spread. That is roughly 120 days of campaign with peak volume in May and June — about 60 tonnes of dried product from a 5 t/day line at the 10 : 1 ratio.
What fuel is available around Sikasso?
Cotton stalk is the main resource, abundant across the Koutiala and Sikasso basin after the cotton campaign at around 3,900 kcal/kg, and currently burned in the field. Shea cake and the line’s own mango peel at 4,200 kcal/kg supplement it.
Size a unit in Mali
Tell us your daily fresh volume and target output, and we will size the chambers, the burner and the fuel available around your site.
Request a quote