"The Italian table grape market is going through a phase of significant transition, characterised by a decline of seeded varieties and the emergence of new strategies for the management of late seedless grapes. The recent campaign has highlighted the criticality of medium-late varieties, which suffered heavy losses at the end of the year due to quality deterioration, and the strong competition from South American products favoured by early planning by the big retail chains. In this context, the Late Pearl variety is emerging as an excellent alternative that allows growers to supply the product until early January," reported Giacomo Grande, consultant agronomist at Grape Evolution.
© Giacomo Grande
Unlike its competitors, Late Pearl has a superior "field-holding capacity," i.e., the ability to remain intact on the plant for a longer period of time. The real challenge for Italian grapes is the commercial window from December to early January. It is in this period that the South American product takes centre stage by taking advantage of the absence of quality Italian grapes.
"Late Pearl has a flexible harvest window from September to December, with a high field-holding capacity thanks to the excellent hold of the fruit on the plant. Production costs are reduced thanks to simple agronomic management, as are water and nutritional requirements, which are characterised by high efficiency in the use of resources. The energy impact is minimal, as it allows longer natural storage in the field, thereby saving on cold storage costs."
© Giacomo Grande
"Its distinctive yellow colour and excellent shelf-life have already met with considerable success in the Italian, French, Spanish and German markets, as demonstrated by the positive results obtained during the last Fruit Logistica fair in Berlin. The big retail trade, especially the German one, which is already starting to appreciate the characteristics of Late Pearl, finds this variety a more logistically-efficient and economic solution with respect to the transoceanic imports via ship or plane."
© Giacomo Grande
According to the agronomist, the table grape market has embarked on an irreversible journey towards seedless varieties. "Historical varieties such as Regal are now being phased out, leaving a gap in the late segment that needs to be filled by technically superior and less expensive varieties," concludes Grande.
For more information:
Giacomo Grande - agronomist consultant
Grape Evolution
+39 348 517 5102
[email protected]
