The winter storm wreaking havoc in the US is disrupting grape supplies across the eastern seaboard. Mark Greenberg of Capespan North America said the storm has led to delays in vessels discharging Chilean grapes and slowed transportation from ports on interstate highways.
The storm, which left a blanket of heavy snow across New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Boston on Friday, has now moved east and is affected Canada’s Atlantic Provinces. Greenberg said total Chilean table grape arrivals on the east coast in week 7 are running 34 per cent below the same period last year, while arrivals for this week are expected to be 27 per cent down on last year. “Cumulative arrival volumes on the East Coast are running 9 per cent below last season’s volume through week 7 and will be 12 per cent lower than last season’s total arrivals by the end of week 8,” he said.
The fall is also due to Chilean shippers diverting limited grape volumes to other markets like China and Europe. “This season’s exports to China through week 6 are up dramatically with a 100 per cent increase over last season’s loadings,” Greenberg said. “Loadings to the Netherlands are up by over 35 per cent, while loadings to the UK are similar to last season.”
The volume of Chilean grapes shipped to Russia and South Korea is also down on 2013 levels.
Greenberg said the lower volume has created a fluid and relatively high-priced market for red and white seedless varieties, with Large Flames selling at US$20-24 per carton and large Thompson Seedless and Sugraone selling for US$24-26 per carton. Prices for Red Globes, meanwhile, were average US$16-18 per cent, a situation Greenberg described as “perplexing” given the current shortage in the market.
