The heat in Southern Europe is affecting the grape market, including Italian grapes. "There are many burnt grapes and inferior qualities on the market. The supply of good quality grapes is 30-40% down from last year. There are quite a lot of grapes coming on the market that are unsuitable for the supermarkets or higher-end customers," says Luciën de Wit of the Dutch company LuBa Fresh.
Luuk and Luciën de Wit visiting their supplier
"There were plenty of failed crops all over the Mediterranean. For example, Greece has a lot of damage. Spanish grapes, on the other hand, suffered from all the rain. Italy also had a lot of flooding in June. With the heat that followed in July, a lot of grapes burst. So it seems there will genuinely be far fewer grapes arriving."
Still, Luciën is not dissatisfied with recent sales. "The grapes taste perfect, and demand is good, much higher than last year," he says.
"That 35% fewer grapes isn't yet causing panic in the market. Prices are slightly higher, but that benefits everyone."
"We're getting the last Victoria grapes next week. After that, we'll switch to the Italia season, which could last until late November. Italia seedless grapes for around €12 for 4.5 kg. The Victoria and Palieri grapes fetch about €2/kg," Luciën concludes.
For more information:
Luciën de Wit
LuBa Fresh
Tel: +31 (0) 777 777 715
Mob: +31 (0) 641 273 443
Email: L.deWit@LuBaFresh.com
Website: www.LuBaFresh.com