The grape export offer from Argentina and Peru for this campaign is reportedly set to increase by 12 per cent and 15 per cent respectively compared with last season, thanks to major rises in this year’s harvests in both countries.
Argentina’s grape production is expected to rise by 10 per cent during the 2008/09 season, which if achieved would lead to a projected 12 per cent increase in table grape exports, according to FruticulturaSur.
The country’s principal grape production zone is San Juan where some 8,696ha of table grapes are cultivated, including 2,375ha of Sugraone, 1,810ha of Red Globe, 1,253ha of Sultanina Blanca and 1,215ha of Flame Seedless.
San Juan is forecast to produce 94,000 tonnes of table grapes, of which some 77,000 will be exported.
Sandro Farfán Padilla, from the Peruvian Table Grape Producers Association (Provid), also told the publication that the country’s grape exports were expected to increase by between 10 and 20 per cent.
According to data from Provid, Peru produced over 35,500 tonnes of table grapes during the 2007/08 season, of which the majority – 27,000 tonnes – were accounted for by the Red Globe variety. Production of the variety has been steadily increasing over recent seasons in Peru, having risen markedly from only 9,973 tonnes in 2004/05.
