The table grape market in the US is expected to show continued momentum in the coming weeks as the Flame deal finishes up and Thompson Seedless grapes prepare to arrive.
The category, especially red seedless grapes, has “finally regained chain store attention”, following “brisk movement” in Week 7, according to Mark Greenberg, chief operating officer of importer-distributor Fisher Capespan.
Greenberg said the arrival of generally higher quality and more attractive grapes from Chile – the leading grape supplier to the US – has revived interest among retailers, after smaller Chilean fruit dampened retailer enthusiasm earlier in the season.
Chilean table grape imports into the US reached 145,723 tonnes through Week 6, down 5 per cent on the same period last year, according to Greenberg.
This, he claimed, is despite the fact that the Chilean industry has come to the broad consensus that its harvest generally continues to run earlier than 2011 by as much as 10 days.
“This leaves little doubt that when the season is done, total Chilean grape volumes to the US could be as much as 10 per cent below last season’s arrivals,” Greenberg explained.
According to Greenberg, Thompson Seedless are now coming into heavy production and arrivals will start to increase dramatically during Week 10 and beyond.
From that time onwards (and probably through March), Thompsons are expected dominate the US market with the exclusion of red seedless grapes.
Crimsons will follow once the bulk of the Thompsons have been harvested, Greenberg noted.
“Once again, we will see what has become an annual feature: A market dominated by one or the other color, but never a real balance,” he predicted.
With the Thompson harvest also likely to end as abruptly as the Flame harvest and
with ultimately lighter-than-expected arrivals, Greenberg said sellers will be forced to balance the need to move fruit during the heavy arrival weeks with the sales opportunities that will present themselves in April when fewer Thompsons will likely arrive.
