Grape harvest at its peak in Nashik

At the peak of the grape harvest in Nashik, India, Hans Troost from independent expertise agency, HDG Services, visited various exporters and packing stations to give the farmers some advice. Packing stations varying from 100 to 800 employees were visited. The exporters visited were mostly remarkable because of their drive to market a good product. Everything was well-organised, from farm to loading the containers at the end. Traceability is particularly important. All steps in the supply chain are documented, and each pallet has a maximum of two workers, which is good for uniformity.

At the farms themselves, part of the Thompson Seedless grapes had already been completely harvested. Other parts are making people wait for them, and have to remain on the vines for 5 to 25 more days, packed in newspaper to prevent sunburn. When the brix levels, vine shape and size of the berry are good, the newspapers are removed and recycled. After some days, the actual harvest will take place. Black Seedless grapes, which are not packed in newspapers, are already being harvested in full swing. These are mostly meant for the Far East.

Besides the grape farms and packing stations, a visit was also paid to a pomegranate farm in the same area. This farm mostly has young, short trees. In some parts of the farm, the fruits are still wrapped up to prevent sunburn. The colour of the pomegranates ready to be harvested is fine. At the time of the visit, there were no activities in the packing station.

Finally, visits were paid to local markets in Nashik and Mumbai, where, in addition to grapes and pomegranates, a selection of other types of fruit and vegetables could also be admired. By now, a number of containers with grapes and pomegranates has arrived in the Netherlands, and these have been inspected for quality by inspectors from HDG Services.