Last year Namibia and South Africa started on an empty grape market with sky high prices as a result. In mid December the market collapsed due to more than enough supply. Now the sales are going slightly better and there is some light at the end of the tunnel. "At the beginning of December the prices in the supermarket were at a high level. It will be a few weeks before they adapt. And with a price of 3.50 for a box of grapes consumers don't always come back for more," explains Conrad Rijnhout of Verdi Import.
"South Africa started harvesting two weeks earlier with excellent conditions. Namibia had larger volumes and you can see the volumes of the white seedless grapes from Peru increase. All together this is a huge volume. Supermarkets had expensive stocks, whilst the volumes just kept coming. There were also more quality problems than in previous years and this all caused a difficult market," reviews Conrad. "over the last few weeks the market has been a little better, stimulated by promotional actions by the supermarkets."
Red Globe
"The prices are on the rise a little at the moment. We have already sold white grapes for 9.50 Euro this week. It's not a record breaker, but it is 2.50 Euro more than two weeks ago. The sales of Red Globe grapes from Peru are going well, with prices around 15-16 Euro for 8.2 kilo. "This is a slightly different segment, and they do especially well in Eastern Europe," continues the trader.
"The question is how the market will continue. We also now have grapes from Argentina, although there is a select audience for them. South Africa is expected to stop four weeks early. The last volumes of Thompson are being shipped in South Africa this week, a few weeks earlier than in other years. I expect higher prices for the Thompson grapes over the next few weeks. The question is what volumes will come from India. They are starting to ship grapes there and the start is earlier than in other years. The first Chilean grapes will also soon be shipped."
For more information:
Conrad Rijnhout
Verdi Import
+31 (0)180 69 64 70
conrad@verdiimport.nl
www.verdiimport.nl