The Chilean grape harvest began two weeks ago with fruit being picked in the Copiapó valley.
Expectations for the season are running high given a tight supply situation in both Europe and the US.
Early season fruit is generally sent to the US, in fact the massive market takes some eight million cases of fruit compared to just 1.1m cases sent to Europe and the UK.
The harvest is running roughly a week to 10 days early and production is expected to rise by about 10 per cent overall with region III, which includes Copiapó, forecasted to go even higher at 10-13 per cent more fruit than in 2005-06.
Growing conditions in the region have been good, hence the early start. The late frosts that caused problems for the crop last year were absent in this growing period leading producers in the third region to be hopeful of strong pricing.
But there are other concerns facing growers. Some are reporting a dip in their production of Sugraone this year, and producers in the Copiapó area are concerned about the scarcity of water for future seasons. Mining activity in the area takes its toll on water resources and representatives from both farming and mining have recently begun to meet together to try and ensure future availability .
Another cause for concern is the shortage of labour. Mining in the region commands much higher salaries, but also other farming regions are now paying higher salaries to rival those of Copiapó.
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