Since the end of August, Frugisol has been selling seedless grapes straight from Sicily on the Rungis market. This origin is highly sought after at this time of year, driven by steadily rising demand.
© Frugisol
Consumption is moving towards seedless grapes from Italy
"Consumption of seedless grapes has risen sharply in recent years," explains Fernando Da Silva of Frugisol. "Traditional grapes with seeds are slowly disappearing, and we now sell much less of them than we used to. Today, our sales of seedless grapes far exceed those of traditional grapes."
Another change in demand is a preference for Italian rather than Spanish grapes, which has prompted Frugisol to adapt its offer. "We used to sell a lot of Spanish grapes, but our clients' demand has gradually shifted towards Italian grapes, because the quality is better and the berries are larger. So we naturally shifted our purchases to this origin to meet the demand, and it has enabled us to regain momentum in this segment."
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Satisfactory prices and continually strong demand
The price trend is also positive. Although the quality of the 2024 harvest is slightly lower than last year's, demand remains strong. "Grapes are one of the most important products on the market at the moment. Demand is often buoyant at this time of year. Today, prices are quite satisfactory and slightly up from last week," explains Fernando Da Silva. Prices are likely to rise sharply at the end of the season, as they did last year, when they reached very high levels in the face of strong demand and a season ending with a falling production volume."
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Peru: Taking over from Italy?
For the second year running, the first shipments of seedless Peruvian grapes of the same varieties as those from Italy should be arriving shortly. "Peru is starting to position itself on the market with the same varieties," explains Da Silva. "Last year, the taste quality was quite good, but the coloring was a little greener than in Italy. Perhaps this will limit the rise in prices for the Italian origin at the end of the season."
For more information:
Fernando Da Silva
Frugisol
Phone: +33 6 99 18 58 88
