Exports of table grapes from the Southern Hemisphere are reportedly set to rise for the third year running when the 2011/12 season gets underway next month.
Sendings will increase by 4.48 per cent to 1.34m tonnes, according to a forecast from iQonsulting and reported by Fresh Fruit Portal.
The upturn will be driven by “significant growth” in Peru and South Africa, which will offset the anticipated decline in volume from Chile, Brazil and Argentina.
Peru and South Africa are forecast to increase their shipments by 42.2 per cent to 150,170 tonnes and 24.5 per cent to 250,000 tonnes respectively, iQonsulting said.
The growth from Peru is due to new vineyards entering into production, while South Africa’s crop has benefited from improved climatic conditions.
Conversely, iQonsulting expects volume from Chile – the Southern Hemisphere’s largest table grape exporter –to contract by 3.3 per cent to 821,000 tonnes, as a result of snow and low temperatures in the northern Atacama region which damaged early varieties.
Argentinean sendings are also on course to decline by 5.3 per cent to 65,000 tonnes, provided weather conditions remain stable, according to the analyst.
Brazilian grapes, meanwhile, will record the biggest decrease in volume, with shipments expected to fall by 7.2 per cent to 56,400 tonnes due to higher production costs and an unfavourable exchange rate, iQonsulting said.
