Just like the other crops, grapes suffered from this year's weather too. This led to a drop in production and to a lower quality which, together with slow consumption, made prices drop.
At the moment, there are three varieties available - Vittoria, early white, Black Magic, early black and Italia. All three are with seeds, even though seedless varieties are getting increasingly popular. These also sell well in Northern Europe, where consumption is increasing, especially in England, Scandinavia and Germany.
Italia grapes.
Different parts of Europe tend to prefer different types of grapes: the French prefer Sicilian grapes because it's smaller, whereas Germany, Poland and the Baltic states prefer the bigger Apulian one.
Not much is being exported this year because quality is not so good and consumption is slow. In addition, the market is flooded with produce because of the Russian ban. Russia was a great consumer of table grapes, so much so that it purchased 400,000 tons of produce in 2011. When it closed its borders, the production had to be sold on other markets, mainly in Europe. Those who can are aiming at Asia, shelf-life permitting.
Quality affects wholesale prices: for the table varieties with seeds they hover between €0.70-1.20/kg. Seedless varieties can reach 30-35% more, sometimes even 50%.
Of course the Russian ban put a damper on prices too, which dropped by €0.20-0.30/kg as produce flooded the market, despite the fact that Italy and Spain are the only suppliers at the moment.
China, the main global table grapes producers, has the exact opposite production period and Brazil will start in December, followed by Chile and South America. Other Mediterranean competitors are also missing because they tend to produce a little earlier and have other outlets: Egypt exports to Russia and Europe, Greece to the Balkans and Turkey to Germany and Russia.