Slowdown in table grape exports from Ica: what is really happening?

(Agraria.pe) Table grape exports from Ica, Peru, have exhibited atypical behavior in week 49 of the current campaign. Although overall accumulated exports in Ica are 8% ahead compared to last season, during the mentioned week only 1.5 million boxes of 8.2 kg were exported, a figure considerably lower than the 2 million shipped in the same period of the previous year. While the record is expected to increase as more shipments are counted, the difference suggests that the weekly volume will remain below the usual. The scenario is explained by Adam Formica, Chief Scientific Officer of Sensonomic, who points out that, while some importers have attributed the delay to the recent low temperatures experienced in Ica, several exporters consider that the weather has been normal and that other factors better explain the current situation. "The delay is due more to the fact that the varieties with shorter cycles and early harvests are being replaced by varieties with longer cycles," he ...