About a month ago, Chile got hit by rain, which significantly hurt total table grape yields for the country. "Fortunately, many of our Autumncrisp® grapes are covered with plastic and as a result, they fared the weather events well," says Carlos Bon with Divine Flavor. Some growers were hit more than others, but in general, Chile's table grape season will end early and with lower volumes. Green grapes are expected to finish around May 8 or 9 while red grapes will finish a few days later, around May 11.
Smooth transition to Mexico
Thankfully, Mexico's main season in Sonora will start early, which will make for a smooth transition from Chile to Mexico. Warm weather during winter and spring has resulted in many crops coming on earlier than usual. This early start will make for a clean transition and is also very exciting, particularly for organic grapes. "It will give us two extra weeks of sales. These are all incremental sales as we won't lose anything at the end due to California's early start," Bon said.
Mexico's grape season is anticipated to be a bit short in volume. The entire growing season was warmer, which is different from the traditional weather pattern and bunch counts took a hit. Traditional varieties like Flame and Sugraone are expected to have very low yields. "It is definitely disheartening to see fewer bunches on the trees, but we are hopeful to make up for it with bigger size grapes and high quality," shared Bon. Proprietary varieties like Sweet Globe™, Sweet Celebration™, and Cotton Candy™ on the other hand look outstanding in terms of quality and yields.
The Mexican season will kick off with good volumes on May 4, with strong promotional volumes coming the week of May 11. Promotable volumes of traditional varieties will be available throughout May while proprietary varieties will be promotable from the end of May throughout June. "In addition, we will have some traditional varieties available in June for customers who are looking for value."
The Mexican grape season is expected to go strong until July 15 and then wrap up just after. "For customers looking for premium varieties, we will go a bit longer as the next growing region, California, will kick off their season with traditional varieties first."
© Divine Flavor
Lower yields in Jalisco
While Mexico's main grape season has yet to get started, grape production in the southern growing region of Jalisco is about two-thirds done. "It has been a challenging season for us due to rain and humidity," explained Bon. Divine Flavor has been commercially growing grapes in Jalisco for six years and this year, it was much more humid compared to any of the previous seasons. Yields are much lower and a ton of boxes were lost as a result of rain and humidity.
Sweet Globe™ and Timpson™ took the biggest hit. Autumncrisp® is a later variety and didn't get impacted by the high humidity as much. "However, we have come to realize that we need more plastic coverings to protect the crop in future years." The rains in this part of the country are very isolated, and plastic coverings will definitely help in easing the pain.
Market conditions & Autumncrisp momentum
Prices are expected to remain elevated through the first half of May. As more volume begins crossing the border, pricing is anticipated to follow its traditional seasonal curve. Demand remains highly elastic and is expected to increase as Mexican grapes enter their peak promotional window.
"In general, the grape market for red varieties is stable, strong for greens, and especially robust for Autumncrisp grapes," said Bon. "Everybody is talking about this variety, and the expectation is that Autumncrisp will be the main driver of growth in the grape category over the next few years."
"Over the past few seasons, Autumncrisp has consistently demonstrated its ability to drive category growth," Bon added. "It's a large, crunchy grape with excellent shelf life—exactly what consumers are looking for."
Beyond its performance, Autumncrisp grapes have also built meaningful brand recognition. Shoppers are increasingly familiar with the variety by name and are actively seeking it out at retail, a shift that is helping drive repeat purchases and long-term category growth.
© Divine Flavor
CPMA
Interested in discussing Divine Flavor's grape offerings in person? Meet with the team at CPMA in Toronto this week. Make sure to stop by booth #907.
For more information:
Michael DuPuis
Divine Flavor
Tel: +1 (520) 281-8328
[email protected]
www.divineflavor.com1]Suggested title.
