"Rainfall interrupts grape campaign just when the market was getting livelier"

"The truth is that this is not a good time for rainfall. We have been calling our customers since yesterday to inform them that we cannot harvest or supply the orders until the rain stops," says Miriam Cutillas, sales and marketing manager of the company Uvasdoce. "The rain has brought our sales to a halt at a time when the market demand seemed to be picking up after a summer with stagnant sales and low prices. Demand for seeded grapes in the domestic market has been very low, partly because of the abundant supply of stonefruit at very low prices."

For the time being, the fruit has not suffered any damage, although we'll have to wait and see what happens in the next few days. "We'll see how this is going to affect the harvest. We'll be lucky if, following the rainfall, the temperatures remain cool and it gets a little windy. If it gets hot after the rains, the consequences could be fatal," explains Miriam Cutillas.

The total volume of bagged grapes expected for this campaign is 52 million kilos, compared to 50 million last season. The bagged grape campaign includes varieties such as Victoria, Aledo, Ideal, Red Globe or Doña María. 60% of these grapes are intended for the domestic market. "The grapes protected with bags have higher production costs, but unfortunately, this is not actually reflected in the final price in the market," she states.

The grape campaign in the Vinalopó Valley already kicked off in July with the harvest of uncovered grapes, both seeded and seedless. "We are currently finishing with the seeded white variety Victoria, and we are going to start soon with the Ideal."