There's currently an ample supply of grapes on the European market. That's causing the necessary sales challenges. "Chile sent fewer white grapes. But they don't play a major role in March and April anyway. Red grapes and Red Globe may start to affect the market in May," expects Corne van de Klundert of Origin Fruit Direct in the Netherlands.
"South Africa, however, shipped huge volumes of white, pitless grapes quite late. That's a far more decisive factor in the large current supply. Normally, late varieties like Regal and Sundance should've arrived in February. But they all arrived in March. South African farmers also planted many new varieties like Sweet Globe and Autumn Crisp. These, too, will be arriving later."
"India is also entering the market en masse with large quantities. Although, cumulatively, the volumes they're sending to Europe are still a bit behind last year's. The big thing is that all this supply will peak in a few weeks. That puts extra pressure on the market. So, we'll all have to pull out all the stops this and next month," says the importer.
"The white pitless grape punnet (10x500g) prices are under especially high pressure. Quite a few black seedless grapes have arrived too. Those prices are also under pressure. Red seedless grape arrivals have slowed somewhat. So, those prices are recovering a little. Red Globe prices have been under considerable pressure too. But that market is also picking up a bit."
"It's now becoming evident that supermarket programs will continue. But, free-market sales remain difficult. The wholesale markets aren't at a standstill. But they no longer have the capacity to sell the volumes they used to. That's because of the corona crisis. That's naturally very regrettable, especially for them," concludes Corne.
For more information:
Origin Fruit Direct
Corné van de Klundert
Tel: +31 (0) 643 241 489
Email: corne@originfruitdirect.nl