The harvest of the first grapes of the season in the Vinalopó Valley, in the Spanish province of Alicante, kicked off two weeks ago, although only now are significant volumes starting to reach the market. This year's production is smaller and the campaign has started with good demand and acceptable prices.
"This year we started with a 30% reduction in the harvest that was due to various factors. Last season, we had full production, so it was to be expected that the yields would be lower this time. Besides, the abundant rains have caused part of the fruit to spoil due to fungal issues," says Rubén Company, manager of the Cooperativa del Campo Sta. M.ª Magdalena, in Novelda.
"Also, last year's disastrous results led to the crop no longer being sustainable for some of the smaller producers, who chose to abandon the fields due to a lack of generational replacement and low financial profitability. The producers of grapes with seeds finished the previous season with economic losses. Fortunately, this season's prospects are much better," he says.
According to Rubén Company, the quality has been good so far and sales are going smoothly thanks to a good demand. "In general terms, prices remain at acceptable levels. This year, we are seeing a rise in the demand for all varieties of grapes with seeds, despite the fact that global trends are increasingly oriented towards seedless grapes. At the same time, we are also surprised by the growth in the demand for red grapes this year. This is partly due to the fact that we are filling the gap left by Greece, which is specialized in white grapes, of which they produce large volumes."
The Cooperative markets the varieties produced by its members, which are all grown following traditional methods, including the use of the bagging technique. While most of the grapes sold are of the Aledo variety, which is a white one with seeds and is harvested up until December, they also market the Ideal, Dominga, Doña María, Crimson or Red Globe, among others.
The cooperative's grapes are sold both in the domestic market and to export markets in Europe (mainly France, Italy and the Netherlands), Africa and Malaysia.
For more information:
Rubén Company
Cooperativa del Campo Sta. Mª Magdalena
Travessía, 22
03660 Novelda, Alicante. Spain.
T: +34 965 60 10 89
gerente@novelcoop
www.novelcoop.com
