It remains to be seen how the market will react to this year's drop in the production, as according to Miriam Cutillas, the harvest of mid-season table grape varieties in Valle del Vinalopó will record a drop of around 25% due to the impact of powdery mildew.
"Right now, we are working with four grape varieties, two with seeds and two seedless, although still with small volumes, which are mainly going to the domestic market. There is demand in Europe, especially considering that Egypt and Morocco finished earlier and suffered quality problems. Even though we are working with some chains in France and Germany, for now our supplying national distribution chains remain our priority. In the first week of August, when we'll begin having more volumes, more of our shipments will go to Europe."
"This year we will market 6 new ARRA seedless varieties; three red and three white. We already have, therefore, 16 different varieties of table grapes in our 200 hectares devoted to the fruit's production. In the past, we started harvesting grapes with the first Crimson in August. Now, with our innovative program, we have managed to market the first grapes by the first week of July," she affirms.
"Every new variety that we acquire is seedless, but we have kept varieties with seeds such as the Victoria, Red Globe, Ideal and Aledo. Supermarket chains are demanding more and more seedless grape every year."
More information:
Miriam Cutillas (Marketing Manager)
UVASDOCE
Ctra. Monforte-Agost km. 6,9
Partida de las Norias n.º 188. Spain
T: +34 965 620 125
M: +34 659670964
info@uvasdoce.com
www.uvasdoce.com