The Indian table grape season has come to an end earlier than expected, after the season had started slightly later. For the past two weeks the availability of the fruit declined and trade had almost come to a complete stop by week 16. Although the coronavirus didn’t have an impact on the season as much, the blockage of the Suez Canal led to significant delays in the transports.
According to Amit Kalya, owner of Indian grape exporter Kalya Exports, the grape season ended earlier than expected: “The table grape season was pretty normal this season, although it ended earlier than we anticipated. There was a late start to the season this year due to late pruning in the field. Naturally, we figured this meant the season would also last a bit longer, stretching the packing to week 18 or even 19, however the availability of the fruit has declined over the past two weeks. It’s almost come to a complete stop in week 16.”
“To compensate, we loaded a couple of containers earlier than planned, as the quality and volumes were good between week 10 and 14, and thus we were able to complete the given programs by the supermarkets and our other customers. Demand at the moment is less, as the excess quantity was shipped between week 10 and 14. Large arrivals have also impacted the prices in the European market.” Kalya explains.
The pandemic is hitting rather hard in India right now, according to Kalya the Maharashtra district is now in lockdown until the 1st of May: “The coronavirus cases have suddenly shown a high peak, starting from week 15, but luckily we had already packed all the fruit and shipped all intended shipments before this became a real issue. As far as the situation now, the Maharashtra state authority has implemented a lockdown until May 1st. Since our season was already over, the lockdown has not led to any losses in fruit or business, as we won’t see any more packaging or shipments going out.”
“Over the past few weeks the logistical situation was pretty well organized by the government. There was no real chaos like we experienced last year, during the lockdown. However we definitely noticed a negative effect from the Suez Canal blockage, as shipments to Europe, the UK and Canada were delayed as a result. Once the blockage was cleared, there was a sudden overflow of shipments in the span of a week or two.” Kalya concludes.
For more information:
Amit Kalya
Kalya Exports
Tel: +91 9890673321
Email: amit@kalyaexports.com
www.kalyaexports.com