Europe
Fewer Southern Hemisphere Grapes Expected in Europe During 2022/23 Season
Dutch importers will take precautions ahead of the 2022/23 Southern Hemisphere grape season before bringing fresh grapes to Europe, especially from Peru or Chile. This is due to the long transit times, high logistics costs, and the difficult economic situation that is affecting Europe. It is expected that fewer importers will source grapes from Southern Hemisphere origins and import them to Europe, which could mean a positive market for this fruit; at least until W50, pre-Christmas sales included. Furthermore, and due to the circumstances mentioned above, Southern Hemisphere exporters will try to diversify their customer base outside of Europe, and thus send lower volumes to this continent. In essence, lower volumes of Southern Hemisphere grapes are expected in European markets in the 2022/23 season, which could lead to higher prices compared to last season.
Peru
According to Fernando Cillóniz Benavides, president of Inform @ cción, In the 2022/2023 campaign Peruvian table grape exports will reach US$ 1,800 million, dispatching about 700 thousand tons while in the next table grape campaign (2023/2024) Peru would exceed US$ 2,000 million in exports of said fruit. He added that it will be in the current campaign (2022/2023) when Peru will become the main supplier of table grapes globally in terms of volume, surpassing Chile, which had held that position for several years. Fernando Cillóniz highlighted that the table grapes from Peru are mainly directed to the markets of the United States, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, China, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Spain, South Korea, Canada, Russia, and others. “In the 2021/2022 campaign, the United States acquired about 260 thousand tons of grapes from Peru. Today this country, which is a great producer of table grapes, is suffering from a drought, so I think that this campaign they are going to import more Peruvian grapes because they are going to produce less. The same happens with Europe (Italy, Spain, Germany) and Asia, which are going to produce less and import more Peruvian grapes and at good prices”, he stated.
Peruvian Grape Exports to Exceed 600,000 Tons in the 2022/23 Campaign
With more than 90 commercial windows and a projected growth of 11 percent, Peru is projected to exceed the exports of 600,000 tons of grapes during the 2022-2023 campaign, according to the National Agricultural Health Service (SENASA). That would amount to 71.5 million cartons of 8.2kg. According to SENASA, in the 2021-2022 campaign, 544,310 tons were exported, with the “red globe” and “sweet globe” varieties being the most in demand in the world. Currently there are 93 import markets that receive Peruvian grapes, with SENASA working to expand the commercial portfolio. Chile and Japan are expected to be the next countries to receive this commodity.
According to the Association of Peruvian Grape Growers (Provid), the growth is due to the expansion of the harvest calendar. Red Globe starts in June and the last grapes are picked in March. So that's almost all year round. The harvest of seedless grapes starts in September in the department of Piura, after which the harvest continues along the Peruvian coast until March, when it is the turn of the department of Ica. In April, they finally return for a second harvest in Piura.
Peruvian Grape Growers Concerned Consumers May Replace Grapes With Cheaper Fruits
Inflation has Peruvian producers and exporters on alert because table grapes are considered a non-essential product for consumers. Gabriel Noboa, member of the Association of Producers of Table Grapes of Peru (Provid) and commercial manager of the Don Ricardo farm, told Agraria that growers are nervous and concerned on the part of customers and supermarket chains about how grape consumption will be affected by higher prices caused by inflation. Noboa warns that “there is a potential risk that grapes are replaceable, since you can opt for cheaper products such as bananas. If you change the usual consumption of table grapes, purchase volumes will drop.” Not only the inflationary crisis would cause the 2022-2023 campaign to be one of the most challenging for the sector, but also the logistics crisis, such as the rise in costs and freight, he said. Delays in fruit deliveries have generated losses in sales due to the fact the delivery date is not met, to which has added to the fall in the prices of the returns. Despite the challenges, Peru ranks second in the world in terms of table grape export volume and has more than 20,000 hectares distributed in various varieties such as Red Globe, Crimson, among others. In this line, Provid projects a growth of 11 percent in 2022-2023. With shipments to more than 50 markets, led by the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the United Kingdon, Provid seeks to enter the Japanese market next.
Italy
Grape Prices in Puglia Are Under EUR 0.50 for Producers
The war in Ukraine and energy price increases have pushed production costs up 51% with a traumatic impact on grape producers. Simultaneously, table grape farmgate prices are below EUR 0.50/kg, while retail prices goes up to EUR 4.00/kg. For every euro spent by consumers, less than 15 cents go to remunerate the agricultural product - explains Coldiretti Puglia - due to the distortions and speculations that occur along the supply chain due to the evident imbalances of bargaining power. Pietro Piccioni, director of Coldiretti Puglia calls for the urgent convocation of a crisis table in the Regional Department of Agriculture to support the table grape sector which is caught between speculative purchasing, summer drought and the hailstorms that damaged the product. (Continue)
Italian Table Grape Prices Are Down YoY
Italian table grape prices are lower than last year due to the presence of different varieties with high quantities in the market. Particularly the white Italia and Pizzutello, the black Palieri and the Apirene, with the latter particularly in demand. There is both Sicilian and Apulian product origin grapes in the market and the quality is good. Particular interest is found in the Pizzutello white grape.
The Italian Grape Season Unprofitable in 2022
Italian grape production is unprofitable due to several factors, including current geopolitical dynamics (war, energy price increases, speculation) and lower consumer purchasing power. Another factor is the increased production and popularity of seedless grapes in European markets, damaging the traditional production of Italian seeded grapes. The different regulations within the EU also complicate the Italian table grape situation, such as Holland, which annually saturates the European market with Egyptian production at lower prices and severely penalizes Italian producers who are bearing high costs and high standards of food safety and quality.
Massimiliano Del Core, president of the regional product federation in Puglia and of Ortofrutta Italia states that "For table grapes the campaign is still in progress, indeed it is now entering the highlight of the season. At this moment the production portfolio is expressing its full potential with both seedless and seeded varieties. Italian production is currently also favored by the approaching end of Spanish production. We are therefore able to benefit from a greater demand for products on foreign markets, in particular on the German, English and Northern European countries." Del Core goes on to say that production companies are placed in difficulty positions, forced to absorb an increase in costs of at least 35-40% compared to last year.
Italian Grape Export Volumes Are Down 14% In the First 6 Months of 2022
Italy is one of the largest table grape producers in the world with 47 thousand hectares (+ 0.5% in the five-year period) and 1.045 million tons (+ 3% on 2021), as the latest Ismea report underlines. Italy is also the third largest exporter in the world, so much so that in volume more Italian grapes are sent abroad than those consumed domestically. With its 729 million euros in sales, table grapes generate 15% of the value of the total national agricultural export. But this year the situation is critical, reveals Ismea: between January and June, the drop in consumption in many European countries and the greater competitive pressure of Greece and Spain have caused the exported quantities to drop by 14% and turnover by 5% compared to the first half of 2021. Even if it is a period in which only 20% of domestic purchases of grapes are concentrated, the signs are still worrying. Moreover, paradoxically, even the boom in seedless grapes can become a boomerang, given that in Italy they are still a minority (40% of crops, but 3% in Sicily) and that commercial cultivars are mainly foreign. To close the gap and offer indigenous seedless varieties, various Made in Italy programs have started.
United States
Significant Increases in Price for Fruit Including Organic Seedless Grapes
Horti Daily reports that during W40 red organic seedless grapes were 20% more expensive compared to the same week last year while white organic seedless grapes were 19% more expensive. Similarly conventional white and black seedless grapes traded at 13% higher YoY while conventional red seedless grapes were 12% more expensive compared to the same week last year.
Australia
2022/23 Australian Table Grape Production Forecast at 210,000 Tons, Exports to Rise
Australian table grape production is forecast to increase to 210,000 metric tons for the 2022/23 season, up from an estimated 180,000 tons last season, according to analysis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This will be the second highest production on record, behind 2019/20 when production reached approximately 215,000 tons. Punishing weather and labor shortages depressed production in both 2020/21 and 2021/22, meaning that even the substantial increase in production this season will not be sufficient to get back to the record levels of 2019/20. In the years before the pandemic, Australian table grape plantings were increasing by approximately 20% per year. These plantings are now starting to produce fruit. This means that Australian table grape production is likely to hit a new record in the 2023/24 season if labor shortages can be resolved in time to pick all of the available blocks of vines. Australian table grape exports for the 2022/23 season are forecast at 130,000 tons, up 8% from 109,000 tons in 2021/22.
Brazil
Intensification of Exports Reduces Supply in the Valley
Exports of seedless grapes in the São Francisco Valley (PE/BA) intensified this week. With the decrease in domestic supply, commercial relations at the national level were facilitated in all markets, since the northeastern production has a strong influence on negotiations throughout Brazil. With the continuation of shipments to Europe during the month of October, the trend is for an even greater reduction in the availability of grapes in the Brazilian market, especially the white seedless grapes, whose packaged price this week (10/10/22 to 10/14/2) had an average of R$ 10.70/kg, up 9.70% compared to last week. It is worth remembering that the best quality grapes are being sent primarily to the foreign market, leaving the domestic market with lower standard grapes.
Niagara Grape Price Renews Nominal Record of the Cepea Series
Last week, prices for niagara grapes in Jales (SP) renewed the nominal record of the entire historical series of Hortifruti/Cepea, which began in 2001. The average between October 3rd and 7th was R$ 7.71/kg, an increase of 6.40% in relation to the previous week. According to employees of Hortifruti/Cepea, the reduced offer in the São Paulo square and in the Minas competitor (Pirapora) has helped to increase prices. Despite the increase, the fruit had good sales, although sales have not been very heated.
Moldova
Ukrainian Grape Producers Are Invited to Moldova for a Conference and Business Tour
The FAO/EBRD joint project, the EastFruit and APK-Inform: Vegetables and Fruits projects invite participants in the grape business of Ukraine to visit Moldova as part of an official delegation on November 2-3, 2022. The grape business of Ukraine suffered the greatest damage from Russia's military aggression and occupation of part of the country, and some advanced farms are still temporarily under the control of the occupiers. The event will be held as a support for the Ukrainian grape market during the difficult wartime and will include both a conference part with speeches by world and regional experts, and a practical part in the form of studying the experience of running a grape business in Moldova. Moldova is the third largest exporter of grapes in Europe, second only to Italy and Spain in the volume of supplies, and the climatic conditions for growing these products are similar to the southern regions of Ukraine. At the same time, Moldova earns $30-40 million annually from the export of fresh table grapes alone, and Ukraine spent $54 million on the import of these products last year, and the import positions in Ukrainian supermarket chains have only strengthened.
Low Demand and Prices for Industrial Grapes Put Pressure on the Price Level of Moldova Table Grapes
The predicted cold snap in Moldova, with night frosts on the soil surface, encourages winegrowers to speed up the harvesting of table grapes of the late variety "Moldova" - in order to avoid losses. Ideally, according to experts of viticultural associations, it would be worthwhile to complete the harvesting campaign no later than the beginning of the third decade of October. However, they also note that so far there are no signs of mobilization of labor resources in order to save the harvest, following the example of the apple sector, in table viticulture.
The projected total 2022 harvest of table grapes in the country is about 80-90 thousand tons, that is, not much lower than the average over the past few years (100-110 thousand tons). However, according to expert estimates, the share of export-quality products in the crop structure will be low - 30-40% at best. At the same time, the bulk of such products have already been collected, initially sorted and placed for storage in fruit storage facilities. In general, the commodity resource of grapes "in storage" is relatively small - experts believe that it is no more than 20-30 thousand tons, but it is enough for measured export sales until about mid-December.
A significant part of the "Moldova" grape harvest, which remains on the plantations, should be sold immediately after harvesting in the best case, it is risky to put it in storage. At the same time, at the moment, the demand for grapes of this variety of medium quality is low. Among winegrowers, the number of those who are trying to sell this product to wineries is growing. However, their demand is not active even for technical grapes of European varieties, and many of them are ready to buy "Moldova" in small quantities at a price of 2-2.15 lei / kg ($ 0.10-0.11 / kg) with payment " immediately”, at 2.30-2.50 lei/kg ($0.12-0.13/kg) with payment “in installments until the end of the year”. At the same time, the average wholesale price for high-quality "Moldova" for export is still at the level of 9 lei/kg ($0.41/kg). Obviously, the factor of low prices for “table-industrial” grapes will put pressure on the “fresh market” conjuncture. Therefore, it is possible that soon the average price of Moldova grapes will drop to October 2019 (7 lei/kg, $0.39/kg), the lowest level over the past four years.
Uzbekistan
More Than 130,000MT of Grapes Produced in the Surkhandarya Region of Uzbekistan in 2022
The total area of vineyards in the Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan is 10,790 hectares; over 130,000MT of table and industrial grapes have been produced in this region of the country this season. Approximately 70% of the produced grapes are table grape varieties, 20% are seedless varieties (raisin) and 10% are technical varieties. However, in recent years, producers have increasingly shown interest in growing table grapes of a higher price segment, such as Rizamat, Mercedes, Kelin barmoq (Lady's fingers), Kora guzal (Black Beauty). ) and Charos, according to the National News Agency of Uzbekistan. In the Surkhandarya region, 9 grape processing enterprises operate with a total capacity of 12,500MT of raw material processing per year.
Bulgaria
Grape Prices Decrease in W41 Despite Market Price Index Trending Upwards
The market price index (ITC), which reflects wholesale food prices in Bulgaria, rose this week by 1.24 percent to 2,125 points. For more than three months, the ITC has been without particular and sharp changes, positioning itself in the range of 2,029-2,125 points, according to the data of the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Markets (DKSBT). There was a slight but sustained increase in the index of nearly 4.8 percent. On an annual basis, ITC has grown by over 30 percent. During W41 the price of grapes fell by 6 cents and are traded at BGN 2.06 per kilogram.
