Ahead of the New Year's Eve campaign, table grape prices in the Spanish market are expected to be higher than last year. It is the result of a drop in the volumes of the traditional seeded Aledo grapes produced domestically, as well as of the seedless grapes from Peru. In these circumstances, the demand for seedless grapes could increase.
The domestic seedless grape season is practically over for the Alicante-based company Uvasdoce, which has recently started with the first shipments for the New Year's Eve campaign.
"We will finish next week with the last domestic red seedless grapes. It has been a season with much higher losses than expected due to the impact of the heat, which has also accelerated the end of the marketing campaign, as it has not been possible to store as many grapes. Prices have been low in Spain, while export prices have not been bad," said Miriam Cutillas, from the Sales and Marketing Department of UVASDOCE FRESH.
"Now we are already quite focused on the New Year's Eve campaign in the domestic market, for which we expect double-digit growth, especially for our special packs with 12 grapes intended for this popular celebration in Spain, with which we expect to exceed 600,000 units," she said.
"And we are expecting this despite the fact that there is a more limited supply. On the one hand, the traditional Aledo white grapes with seed from the Vinalopó Valley, in Alicante, have recorded a notable drop in the production due to the impact of hail storms in late spring, in addition to the fact that the heat accelerated their ripening and affected their quality, causing prices to be substantially higher this year," said Miriam Cutillas.
"With seeded white grapes being so expensive this year, many Spanish supermarket chains have been turning to imported seedless varieties, which are also in short supply, given that Piura, in Peru, the most important origin for seedless grapes at the moment, is registering a 30% drop in the production and is also dealing with quality issues."
"Although not as high as those of Spanish seeded grapes, Peruvian grape prices are also higher due to a lower supply and higher production costs. Still, we do not expect this to translate into a drop in consumption. In fact, with such a good demand, not having more seedless grapes available for the New Year's Eve campaign is a shame," says Miriam.
According to the sales and marketing manager of UVASDOCE FRESH, in recent years, there was already a trend towards seedless grapes for New Year's Eve, but "the lack of seeded grapes this year could accelerate it in the coming years. However, I believe there will always be a place for seeded grapes in the market."
On December 5, Uvasdoce launched its New Year's Eve campaign on its social media. The campaign, designed together with the Alicante-based agency Makinacción, aims to bring New Year's Eve grapes to all Spanish homes and features the slogan "Suerte, Suerte" (Good Luck, Good Luck).
For more information:
Miriam Cutillas
UVASDOCE FRESH
Ctra. Monforte-Agost km. 6,9
Partida de las Norias n.º 188
T: +34 965 620 125
info@uvasdoce.com
www.uvasdoce.com