The Philippines is under the weight of sweets, but the task is difficult: in the country there is an excess of mangoes of 2 million kilograms.

Agriculture Minister Emmanuel Pignol said mango farmers reported an “unusual increase” in the crop, which they attributed to the El Niño effect, a climatic phenomenon that led to unusually hot and dry weather this year.

According to Pignola, on the Philippine island of Luzon alone, there is an excess of about 2 million kilograms of mango, the excess led to a drop in price from 58 pesos (88 pence) to 25 pesos (38 pence) per kilogram.

Pignol emphasized the need for urgent measures to combat glut before the fruit disappears and thereby harm farmers. “We must do something in the next two weeks,” the minister added.

In an attempt to save excess mangoes, the country's Ministry of Agriculture launched a marketing campaign called Metro Mango, the essence of which is to try to move a million kilograms of fruit to the shelves of the Metro distribution network in Manila, where fruits will be sold throughout June.

To entice buyers with bulk purchases, fresh mangoes will be priced from 25 pesos (38 pence) to 50 pesos (75 pence) per kilogram.

The Ministry of Agriculture also organized cooking classes to teach people how to cook with mangoes, and will hold a mango festival in mid-June to stir up frenzy and boost demand for fruits.

The overseas interest in cheap mangoes helps alleviate the burden of oversupply. The ministry hopes to increase daily mango imports to Hong Kong and Dubai. And one Japanese importer of fruit already promised to buy 100 kilograms of mango.