The first Chilean grapes bound for the UK are finally on the water after a severely delayed start to the season, and further disruption is likely due to strike action.
The grape season in the early Chilean region of Copiapó got off to a slow start, due mainly to the very harsh winter and low temperatures in the South American country last year. “The problem is that we are not going to have a staggered start,” one importer told FPJ. “We have Ovalle, Copiapó and Aconcagua all starting at about the same time. The market is eager for the fruit, but with various regions and varieties coming on stream more or less at the same time, it is going to be tricky.”
So far, just 11,000 8.4kg cartons have been shipped to Europe this season, compared to 142,000 this time last year. “Nevertheless, the fruit will hit a nice window in the UK as Orange River is finishing early and there has been rain in the Western Cape,” said the importer.
But the delayed start is only part of the problem for the Chileans. Labour issues are also casting a shadow over the season with seasonal workers striking over pay and conditions.
Now exporters fear that the labour problems so far only felt in the early areas will have a knock on effect on supplies of labour to other regions and ultimately impact on sendings of fruit.
Trade officials have been meeting to try and alleviate the labour issues, forming a round-table working party to prevent further disruption to the harvest.
“Our aim is to promote social peace in our country,” Asoex’s president Ronald Bown told the Chilean press. But Luis Schmidt farm body SNA said an inter-company deal signed by producers and exporters in Copiapó at New Year was penned “under pressure” from striking workers, as growers feared their harvests would be lost if they did not reach the agreement.
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