Severe rainfall in Brazil and cooler-than-normal weather conditions in South Africa are anticipated to cause a shortage of table grapes on the European market from mid-November to mid-December, according to importers.
“The volume of exportable fruit in Brazil was already down by 15-25 per cent in Brazil even before the downpour, so now with all vineyards affected in Petrolina that figure has risen to 45 per cent,” Entse van der Woude of Timerfruit told Fruitnet.com.
“There have also been delays to the South African crop because of cold weather in the Transvaal, but the crop is catching up quickly, according to our latest updates.
“Even so, Brazil has also shipped more red seedless table grapes to the US this season (because of good prices), so there’s likely to be a supply gap for the European market from mid-November to mid-December.”
