"Spain: "Grape consumption soars in August"

The Valencian company Daifressh is very optimistic about this table grape campaign, in which the export volume is expected to increase by between 10 and 15% compared to last season.

On 6 July, COPA-COGECA, the European organization that protects the interests of growers and cooperatives, already published its forecasts for the harvest in 2016. According to its press release, it estimates that this year's table grape exports will be better than those of 2015. The following graph shows the table grape export figures corresponding to last season.

"Overall, there is a high demand for the product, as consumption soars in August," affirms Rafael Martínez, of the commercial department at Daifressh. "The product is achieving a great performance at destination this year, with a good shelf life and optimum organoleptic qualities, and this also contributes to boost sales," he adds.

According to Rafael Martínez, "prices have remained at stable levels compared to the previous season, with no considerable variations, although there are price differences depending on whether the product has seeds or not," he explains.

Regarding exports, Daifressh has production available from Spain, Macedonia, Greece, Crete and Egypt. Its markets, both for seeded and seedless varieties, are namely those of central and eastern Europe, especially Poland, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.

"With our unique DaiCycle work process, we distribute most grape varieties, known for their resistance to transport and storage, with them retaining their original properties."

Some of the varieties with seeds exported by Daifressh include the Victory (white) Red Globe (red) and Palieri (black). As for the seedless varieties, there are exports of Sugraone and Thompson (white varieties) and of the black varieties Flame, Crimson and Ralli.

"Thanks to our wide range of varieties and countries of origin, we can guarantee availability of table grapes to Europe for many months," he concludes.

Rafael Martínez