The harvest season of the variety Iniagrape-One 2017, in the Communes of San Esteban and Santa Maria started with the on-site visit of FEDEFRUTA to the farms and packing facilities of Mifruta's Exporting company, which is supported by CORFO through the Associative Development Program (PROFO).
The Iniagrape-One grape variety was developed by the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) in conjunction with the Biofrutales Consortium in order to obtain a variety that would meet the current needs of Chile as an exporter of table grapes. This variety has a black color, a slightly elongated round shape, a good caliber, sweet flavor, a high content of pruina (the wax that covers the grape), and a long post-harvest life. The variety adapts to the climatic conditions of the productive zones of the country and has an interesting international projection.
After visiting the cultivation areas, Fedefruta went to the packing facilities of MiFruta, an export company whose partners are producers of the provinces of San Felipe and Los Andes, which, with the support of CORFO came together to export their products directly to the demanding markets of the United States, England and China, among other markets, through fair trade networks. The producers of MiFruta, which seized the opportunity and invested in the Iniagrape-One variety, are very satisfied with the quality of the fruit obtained and the management facilities in its production process.
According to Rodrigo Cruzat, the manager of the Biofrutales Consortium who participated in the activity, as the Iniagrape-One had been a success, they are working on new varieties that will help maintain the national industry's competitiveness in the international table grape market, and other fruits.
Guillermo Nieto, a producer of the commune of San Esteban and a partner of MiFruta, highlighted the variety's precocity, which allows them to have smaller investment returns at the orchard level.
The collaborative work of the different public and private institutions, plus the indispensable work of farmers, has allowed the development of a variety that enhances the competitiveness of the national fruit-growing sector and consolidates the trust that international marketing networks have in Chilean producers.
Source: Communicaciones Fedefruta