Grape importers are looking to stretch supplies of remaining Chilean fruit until Mexico begins in the middle of May. Furthermore, the last bulk vessel ship from Chile has been canceled due to lack of volume, so exporters are working hard to push the last of the volume into what looks to be a strong market.
"With another two full weeks left before Mexico can cross any meaningful volumes, Chilean importers will try to get paid for remaining inventories," noted Ira Greenstein of Direct Source Marketing. "Many growers are scrambling to load containers to get that final push of fruit into the US market by the third week of May. We could see overall FOBs tick higher this week as importers try to stretch their season until Mexico finally makes an impact in the market."
Green seedless at a turning point
A couple of weeks ago, the green seedless market was headed for a gap in supply as Chilean volume was nearing exhaustion. However, high FOBs have done their job and overall demand and movement have slowed considerably. Moreover, there are reports that small amounts of green seedless grapes are starting to arrive from Mexico, although volume remains light and quality is average for now.
"Availability remains fairly good, although retailers seem to have put their focus on other spring commodities to spotlight," Greenstein observed. "Pricing on storage Thompsons currently ranges from $38 -$44 with quality and size being the determining factors. The industry wasn’t expecting to see Mexican green seedless supplies in the market until the middle of May, but early volumes of proprietary sweet globes have begun crossing the border. We could see some shifts this week as more information continues to come from south of the border but we can expect another week of average quality and very high priced green seedless from both Mexico and Chile, leaving retailers to focus on continued red seedless promotions."
Red seedless promotions continue
Volumes and quality of red seedless grapes from Chile remains strong, especially on Crimson Seedless. Importers are pricing them with the intent to move inventory quickly and as a result, the market is seeing some good promotions. According to Greenstein though, expectations are to see overall shipments begin to wind down for the season, although good quality red seedless grapes should still be around for a while.
"Pricing on good quality imported red seedless currently ranges from $16-$18 on medium/large, $18-$20 on large and $20-$22 on x-large," he said. "After a solid month of aggressive FOB’s and steady movement, expectations are to see pricing adjust higher for importers comfortable with their remaining on-hand inventories. There are still a few players in the market looking to cut deals on fruit that needs to move quickly, but with the transition to Mexican red seedless still weeks away, importers have put their best quality lots in storage to stretch supplies through the remainder of the season."
Black seedless and Red Globes
Supplies of black seedless grapes from Chile are set to finish up in the next week and what is left is apparently of mixed quality. Autumn Royal is the variety that the few importers that are left are shipping. "Overall quality and condition ranges widely as most lots are aged as they were received prior to the April 10th USDA Marketing Order," Greenstein shared. "Pricing on good quality Chilean black seedless currently ranges from $28-$32 with expectations of another week of availability left in the season."
He added that demand for Red Globes is weak, with retailers not placing much focus on seeded grapes despite the good quality on offer. "Overall quality and condition have been very good with solid sizing and deep color. Pricing currently ranges from $16-$18 on x-large and jumbo with some importers offering more aggressive pricing in order to keep fruit moving through the pipeline."
For more information:
Ira Greenstein
Direct Source Marketing
Ph: +1 (914) 241-4434
[email protected]
www.directsourcemktg.com
