In W22 in the grape landscape, it was reported that the Egyptian grapes have arrived early on the market, which has pleased exporters, especially in Europe, and hopes to recover from a difficult season in 2022. Last season's harvest was excessive and led to low prices. Egypt has a golden opportunity to export to Europe before the start of the Spanish season, while Chile and India are at the end of their season. Egyptian grapes have a higher quality than Indian ones, leading to better prices and driving competition out of the European market. The South African Table Grape Industry held a post-mortem session in April to review the 2022/23 season. The Northern Provinces region experienced a 24% decrease in production, while the Orange River region was 3.1M cartons below the initial estimate. Early-maturing varieties ripened 7-10 days earlier than the previous season, while mid-season varieties were in line with previous seasons. 55% of South African grapes were shipped to the European Union, 20% to the United Kingdom, and 7% to the Middle East.
Peru shipped 324,678T of table grapes abroad in 2023, 35% higher YoY. In W21, Peru exported 508T of grapes, 3% higher YoY. Nine Peruvian exporters and 12 importers participated. 82% of the grapes exported were dispatched through Callao, while the rest left through Paita. In 2023, Mexico exported 75% fewer grapes than in 2022, with only 728K cartons of Mexican grapes exported compared to 2.957M cartons in May 2022. The harvest started about ten days ago, but the volume available is low. Weather conditions and new varieties have caused a shift in the start of the harvest, with new varieties starting at least two weeks later than traditional varieties like Perlette and Flame.
The novelty of the table grape season is available only in two stores of a chain located in the capital of Uzbekistan at a retail price of USD 6.1/kg. According to the press service of the Termez district of the Surkhandarya region, it was in this district that the harvesting of the early Chillaki grape variety began. In the 2022 season, the early Chillaki grapes appeared on the shelves of supermarkets in the capital of Uzbekistan on June 3-4. The retail price of table grapes ranged from USD 9.5/kg to USD 11.6/kg. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Main Customs Administration of China signed the Protocol on Phytosanitary Requirements for the Export of Table Grapes from Uzbekistan to China on May 18-19, 2023. This protocol requires that table grapes exported from Uzbekistan to China comply with Chinese import phytosanitary and veterinary requirements, as well as food safety and hygiene standards of the PRC. Table grapes from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan can be exported into China, according to the General Administration of Customs in China, which announced on May 29, 2023. Lastly, the FDA discovered that a shipment of Japanese grapes contained the banned pesticide cyclaniliprol in Taiwan. As a result, the FDA has decided to either return or destroy the affected grape shipments.
