The heavy rains in Chile have wreaked havoc and have had negative effects along the coast. The province of Santiago suffered the most damage, as the excess water led the Mapocho River to overflow causing a strong flood in the area. Santiago has many areas dedicated to growing table grapes and, fortunately, approximately 95% of the crop had already been completed before the flood.
"Indeed, the rain was very strong, many millimeters fell and the grape harvest was stopped. Fortunately for most of the producers, there wasn't a lot of unharvested grape, there was only less than 5% of the total production remaining. This, however, can't be used anymore and will have to be discarded," said industry sources.
In a normal production year the harvest of late grape varieties would come to an end by mid-April. However, Chile's harvest was delayed by 10 to 15 days this season because the varying temperatures did not favor the ripening of the fruit and the harvest was postponed. As a result of the rains, farmers were forced to conclude the harvest ahead of schedule.
"Fortunately, the fields have not been damaged so far, but we still have to check their status once the weather improves. At the moment, we are waiting for the excessive water in the farmlands to disappear so we can clean the orchards and discard the ruined fruit. After that, we'll be able to start preparing the land for the next planting. We hope that there's not much damage," stated producers in the area.