The share of classic varieties has fallen sharply in recent years. For MY 2020/2021 which has just come to an end, Chile reached a significant varietal change in its production and holds 60% of its original varieties, Peru holds 50%, and South Africa holds about 30% of their original varieties, which makes it the country with the greater varietal shift. The progress was mainly seen in the white and red categories, while the black color category had slower progress as it only has a small share in trade.
Chile remains the leading global supplier of fresh grapes, although it had a very unusual MY 2020/21. According to the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX), there was a 12% decrease in the exported volumes of grapes this past season due to unexpected heavy rainfalls that damaged around 35% of the total production. However, Chile remains an extremely important source of supply for table grapes to the Northern Hemisphere. Its export destinations and exported quantities as well as their varietal offers are undergoing significant realignments, which has had a significant shift in recent years.
Even though classic varieties such as Crimson and Red Globe are still dominant in Chile, the new varieties are gaining substantial importance in the country's trade. Red grape varieties are exported the most and still have a more significant share in Chile's exports. As the Red Globe variety still holds the larger export share at 26%, there are new red varieties that are now part of the export pull, such as Sweet Celebration with 5% of the share, Timco with 5%, and Allison with 3%. For the white varieties, the only patented that is exported is the Arra 15 variety with 2% of the total export share.
Peru is going through a substantial development in its grape industry and has shown a considerable increase in its production and exports. According to The Association of Producers and Exporters of Table Grapes of Peru (PROVID), exports of table grapes totaled 57.3 million boxes in MY 2020/21, representing an increase of 17% compared to the previous campaign. It also had a growth of 2% in certified production areas, reaching 20,775 hectares. During the first few years that grapes were exported, Peru had a portfolio with just three varieties. In 2010, 75% of the country's table grape exports were Red Globe, while today, this variety represents 30% of its export share.
Peru´s extension of its varietal offer has been a critical strategy to gain a more significant market share in Northern Hemisphere markets as its new varieties have been gaining significant popularity. According to PROVID, in the MY 2020/2021 campaign, 50 table grape varieties were exported from 133 different exporting companies. Unlike Chile and South Africa, the white seedless grapes were the most shipped by volume within the new varieties, followed by the red seedless grapes, and finally the black seedless grapes. The Sweet Globe stands out within the white seedless, which became the second most exported variety by Peru with 14% of the export share. Furthermore, there is the Timpson (4%), Ivory (2%). Among the red ones, the Sweet Celebration (5%), Allison (5%), and Jack's Salute (2%) stand out. About 20% of the share is other classic varieties like Crimson Seedless (7%) and Sugraone (6%).
South Africa has also seen an increase in its MY 2020/2021 output of about 20,000 tonnes compared to the previous year. The growth is mainly due to an increase in the planted areas, favorable weather conditions, and the availability of water irrigation. Additionally, the country has made substantial progress in variety development in recent years. In fact, it is the country that has made the most progress in patents, as just over 30% of its varieties are classic ones, and 70% are new.
South Africa´s patented varieties belong to the red category for the most part, similar to the case of Chile. Among their most exported red varieties is the Scarlatta that now represents 8% of the export share, followed by Tawny (6%), Sweet Celebration (4%), and Allison (3%). The Starlight and Ralli varieties stand out as the newest red varieties that have recently stood out. The white varieties are the second most exported varieties in South Africa, with Autumn Crisp and Sweet Globe as the strongest of the new white varieties, with each taking 4% of the export share. In South Africa, some black varieties also appear among the main ones, such as Midnight Beauty, Sable, Sweet Joy. The classic varieties that represent 30% of the export share are dominated by Crimson (17%), Prime (8%), and Thompson (3%).
The success of the new fresh table varieties in the trade dynamics is mainly due to the development of seedless grapes that are more resistant to long journeys and storage. A few have stood out among the others for their performance in the leading importing markets within the new varieties. For the white category, the Thompson Seedless, followed by Sugraone, Imperial, Regal, and Prime, are the white grape varieties that have had a more substantial impact in key markets. For the red category, Sweet Celebration, Allison, and Sweet Globe have been the most successful. The black color category saw the slowest progress as it only has a small share in trade.
As for the classic varieties, the ones that have had a greater reduction are the Thompson and Flame, as their seedless versions have replaced these. In contrast, the classic Crimson variety continues to be one of the most exported. Another exception within the classic varieties is the famous Red Globe variety that continues to be well-received despite having seeds.
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