AU: Good grape volumes, but quality poor
The reason for this is not the glut of fruit on the market, but rather the quality. Cool weather during flowering lowered the fruit's sugar levels.
Gleniecy Farm owner Glenn Pearmine said "Because of the lower quality of fruit, farmers were taking a hit in the prices at the market."
"It is one of the lowest prices, we're getting about $5 a kilogram. Normally it is about $6-7 a kilo, so we've got much bigger volume but the quality isn't there."
Ross Cordoma, of Cordoma Farms, said sugar tests completed about six weeks ago showed the grapes had a higher acidity level than normally acceptable, but by delaying the harvest, sweeter fruit was being picked.
"You have to watch what you're picking and we mainly target the bigger berries for the first pick because they are more advanced than your smaller berries.
"We are two weeks into harvest and it's probably bigger than other years."
Source: cqnews.com.au
