Table grape exports from Nashik, India’s leading production hub for the fruit, will be down 25 per cent on earlier-season projections due to the impact of a recent cold snap in the region, according to India’s Grape Exporters Association (GEA).
Jagannath Khapre, president of the GEA, told the Times of India that previous estimates had predicted an export crop at 30,000 tonnes for the Nashik region, but that this figure was now likely to decline by 25 per cent to 22,000 tonnes.
Temperatures in the region plummeted on 9 February, with Nashik city reaching 2.7oC and the Nihpad suburbs, where most vineyards are located, touching 0.2oC. The sudden dip in the mercury has affected an estimated 1,500ha of vineyards in the region as it launches into its new season export campaign.
According to the Times of India, around 148 containers (1,776 tonnes) have already been shipped out of the Nashik region, which accounts for roughly 75 per cent of Maharashtra’s grape exports.
An unnamed senior agricultural officer told the newspaper that Thailand had been the leading destination so far, taking 57 containers, followed by the UK (33 containers) Holland (24), Sweden (13), Vietnam (8), Cambodia (4), Indonesia (3) and Sri Lanka (2). Singapore, Malaysia, Egypt and Hong Kong had each taken one container.
Industry sources interviewed by Asiafruit gave mixed reports about the impact of the cold snap.
Nandkumar Ahire of Jay Agro Export, who predicted that Indian production would peak between week 8 and week 16, said the cold weather in week 6 had affected berry size and sugar levels. “It’s had a big impact, particularly in terms of finding good berry sizes from growers,” he told Asiafruit.
Mayank Tandon of major exporter Freshtrop Fruits said the cold snap had delayed the crop slightly, but it was too early to determine the impact. “The extent of the damage hasn’t been completely ascertained yet, though it’s likely to be less than what the media has predicted,” he noted.
Geoff Green, procurement director of Capespan International, did not anticipate any significant impact on the export season – other than making it more focused on March/April production.
Prior to the cold snap, the industry had been reporting near-ideal growing conditions, with predictions of plentiful volumes for export.
The prospect of large volumes being shipped has, however, raised some concern in the industry about exports to Europe, particularly given the uncertain market reception.
Germany is a critical market for Indian grapes in Europe, accounting for more than a third of the country’s exports to the region. Last season, German buyers proved very reluctant to commit to taking Indian grapes in the wake of the 2010 residue issue with Chlormequat Chloride Component (CCC). Many of them were displaying continued wariness as the season got under way.
“Some `German importers` are buying, some aren’t,” said Green “Without this market, the potential for volumes is severely diminished. I just hope importers don’t bring in speculative volumes in the hope Germany comes on board - that would be bad for the market.”
While the first arrivals of Indian grapes into Europe are expected next week, Green cautions that India “will have to wait” for an opening in many markets. “February and March will be low-price, high-volume months for grapes,” he said. “There’s a very big South African white seedless programme to Europe at competitive prices and a high early Chilean volume as well as the usual peak of Argentinean supplies. This has created price pressure since week 5 that will last almost certainly to week 13.”
Capespan has earmarked Easter as the transition from the main Chilean season to the start of Indian programmes in earnest. Even then, opening prices will be relatively low compared to the last two years, Green cautioned.
