Chile's table grape season reached its final stretch immersed in the complex context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which broke out in China in January. However, according to the president of the ASOEX Table Grapes Committee, Fernando Sat, in general terms “this campaign has been carried out under perfect conditions. We have not had rains, nor other important climatic phenomena, so the health and quality of the fruit have been quite good, as has been valued by the different buying countries. In addition, prices have behaved as expected.”
Regarding the volumes marketed throughout the campaign, Sat stated that Chile has exported nearly 57 million boxes of fresh grapes to date, i.e. nearly 6.5% less than by the same date last year.
Sat specified that "the Timco grape (a new variety) positioned itself as the fourth variety in Chile in this campaign, with about 3 million boxes. It is important to note that many new varieties have been planted in the country (approximately 50 to 70 varieties), so it still unclear which are the best or worst varieties, as most of them are in the experimentation stage.”
Coronavirus
Regarding the effect of the coronavirus in the Chilean grape season, Fernando Sat commented: “The COVID-19 pandemic has been a great disaster for everyone and has affected the normal functioning of all people and companies, and fruit growing has not been the exception. Fortunately, we have had slight interruptions both on the fields and in the ports, as a result of the curfew and other measures taken by the authority. It is clear that this is a very serious problem that will be with us for several more months; the effects of which we will feel for several years, as it has negatively affected the entire world economy.”
He also stated that the main setbacks so far have to do with the availability of containers. "We have had problems because the shipping companies haven't had the necessary supply of containers they need, due to the rotation problems of the ships that have not been able to do their normal itinerary. That first happened in China and it is now starting to happen in Europe."
Source: simfruit.cl
