Spain: Grupo El Ciruelo kickstarts import grape season

The Spanish table grape campaign is coming to an end. This year, approximately 30% less seedless grapes have been harvested, and this, along with the demand increase in Europe, has brought a slight increase in prices.

Talking about the fruit's quality, Cristina Gutiérrez, of Grupo El Ciruelo, affirms that "in general terms, the quality has been quite good. It has been a dry year until November, so there were no problems."

"We are about to finish with the last red seedless grapes in Murcia, our Scarlotta variety, and starting with the import season, with both seeded and seedless Red Globe grapes," explains Cristina.

Regarding seeded grapes, they now sell the white Dominga variety and the Napoleon black variety.

Delays of over two weeks in the Southern Hemisphere "have caused a lack of supply of the product in Europe," explains Cristina, and "this situation has caused prices to rise."

Founded in the 70's, El Ciruelo is currently an international leader in stone fruit and table grapes, with volumes reaching 50,000 tonnes and with more than 1,200 hectares for own production and another 1,500 managed by partnered producers. The confidence they have shown in seedless grape varieties is noteworthy, which has led them to become their largest producer in Europe, with quality fruit allowing them to stay in the market from June to December with their national production, and from December to June with the imported products.

For more information:
Cristina Gutiérrez
Grupo el Ciruelo
Ctra. Alhama-Cartagena, Km 2,5.
ALHAMA - MURCIA - Spain
T: +34 968 630 645
M: +34 629 253 150
cristina@elciruelo.com
www.elciruelo.com