The end of the year is just around the corner and, as is traditional in Spain, people will celebrate by having a New Year's Eve party and eating twelve grapes at the stroke of midnight.
"The table grape market was calm in November and the beginning of December but in week 50 we started the New Year's Eve twelve grape campaign. This is a period in which demand peaks, so we hired 130 people more than usual, just like we do in September and October, reaching more than 600 workers,” stated Miriam Cutillas, from Uvasdoce's Marketing and Sales department.
“This year, hotel and restaurant chains are making their orders early and sales are starting to pick up. Everything indicates that this New Year's Eve campaign will be much better than last year's campaign. Back then, sales to supermarkets were good but the hospitality industry was operating at a ridiculous capacity. The pandemic is still not over and we don't know if this year will be as good as 2019, but it will surely be much better than 2020. People want to go out and have fun," he said.
There have been fewer grapes with seeds this year, so we expect there will be fewer grapes with seeds available this Christmas, she added. The demand for seedless grapes continues to increase. “We had concerns about the season and, even though prices could have been somewhat better to offset the rise in production and handling costs, sales have been consistently high and fluid. The Spanish supply of seedless grapes continues to grow but so does consumption. The operators of the sector can't complain.”
The company from Alicante will end the year with production volume up by more than 30%. “This is the biggest growth in our history after years of changing our seed grape varieties to seedless varieties. Next year we hope to increase our production by 10 to 15% and continue steadily in the coming years,” stated Miriam Cutillas.
Uvasdoce exports 50% of its production throughout the 12 months of the year, counting on imports from other origins. However, when the domestic product is in season, the company allocates more of its production for export than to the national market. The company continues to expand its exports.
“Our main export markets are South Africa, Ireland, and England. This year we have grown in France and have made successful trial shipments to Nordic countries, as well as air shipments to Asia and the Middle East, so next year we could make the leap to these countries. We also received calls from the United States and Canada. As our production increases, we'll be able to cover more destinations,” stated Miriam Cutillas.
For more information:
Uvasdoce
Tel.: +34 965 620 125
[email protected]
www.uvasdoce.com