Grape production in the Spanish region of Murcia has thrown up a number of challenges for growers this season, but their experience has helped them produce some first-rate fruit. “Grapes are not the easiest thing to grow, and they don’t always turn out right,” says Rupert Maude at grower and exporter El Ciruelo. “But Spanish summers are usually hot and dry, so they are ideal for production.”
The Sugraone variety, which is marketed by licensed exporters under the Superior Seedless brand, is grown in the valleys of Alhama de Murcia, Totana and Abarán, as well as on the coast in Aguilas and Mazarron, within the Murcia region. US fruit business Sun World International holds the trademark for Superior Seedless grapes and, while any producer can grow the Sugraone variety, only those with a licence can market product under the brand.
The members of the Asociación Apirenas, which includes 500 producers and 30 exporters, grow Superior Seedless on 1,500 hectares in Murcia. Some 15,000t of fruit is produced each year in a season that stretches from mid-June to August.
Production this year was affected by heavy rain and lower-than-average temperatures in April, which have delayed the season by 10 days and triggered a drop in volumes. The fruit is very sensitive to rains and low temperatures in the setting period, according to Enrique Bastarreche, co-ordinator of the Apirenas group, and spring conditions were not ideal this year. “Holy Week needs to be hot and sunny to produce a high proportion of grapes that meet supermarket standards, but the weather in Spain at that time was so-so,” he says. Supply is expected to be some 30 to 40 per cent down on the 2006 season, with the possibility of a 50 per cent drop being the worst-case scenario in areas that were most affected.
But the delay in the Spanish season this year will mean entry into a less competitive market, Maude says, as supply from competing countries Egypt and Morocco will have passed its peak. “Prices for early grape have been good, but that changed because of Egyptian and Moroccan supply. However, it could improve in two weeks’ time,” he adds.
More than 50 per cent of the Superior Seedless crop is earmarked for the UK, with the rest divided between retailers, including discounters, and wholesale markets in both the UK and Germany. But sendings to UK supermarkets are expected to fall by 30 per cent this year, says Bastarreche. “The grapes that we do send will meet 100 per cent of UK requirements,” he says.
A change in the way the Superior Seedless brand is licensed will take hold from December, and the impact this will have on supply to the UK is not yet known. Sun World has a joint venture with Superior Fruticola in Spain, which licenses the exclusive rights to grow and market Sugraone under the Superior Seedless name to the Asociación Apirenas in Murcia. This agreement, which has been in place for the last seven years, is to come to an end when the 2007 season finishes, and the Apirenas group is in negotiations with Sun World and Superior Fruticola regarding future cultivation and marketing of the variety.
UK consumers still favour white grape over golden, red or black varieties but, according to Bastarreche, Spanish growers are not sure how much value is added by the Superior Seedless brand.
The UK market for grapes has reached £449 million, according to TNS figures, with white product at £260m, red at £115m, mixed punnets at £42m and black product at £2m. But growth across the category is static, at just three per cent.
Exporters need to focus on fruit quality and consistency of supply in order to grow the market, according to Maude, but innovation is needed across the category. “Grapes are one of the few categories in which people try before they buy, and shoppers will switch to something else if they don’t like it,” he says. “The sweeter the better for any grape, but UK consumers are caught up with the idea that white grape should be green, but golden fruit is much sweeter, with a brix level of up to 24°.”
Spanish growers are experienced enough to meet UK standards, says Bastarreche. “The specifications for UK supermarkets are very hard,” he says. “We need to select the best fields, not only for quality, but also berry size, a good separation of the grapes in a bunch, and sugar content.”
The way forward for the market is to find added value, such as packing white and red grape together in mixed punnets, according to Maude. “This costs growers more, but they are willing to make the investment if it has a value,” he says.
Spanish exporters are looking for points of difference to stand out in a crowded July market. The Mediterranean country is closer to the UK market than Egypt and Morocco and, given the recent concerns over food miles, this could give Spain a competitive edge. “What is picked today will be packed today and shipped today, and the grapes will be on UK shelves within three days,” says Maude. “Spain is the garden of Europe, producing fruit and vegetables in both the summer and winter, and it is the nearest point to the UK.”
Producers in Murcia are also making the effort to produce fruit as naturally as possible, but still using conventional methods. Growers use sexual disorientation traps to stop pests multiplying, as well as plastic and netting to protect the fruit, spraying only when necessary before switching to natural treatment one month before harvest. “MRLs are such a sensitive issue, and we have to use fewer and fewer pesticides,” says Maude. We cannot afford any exceedances. But there are some people out there who believe chemicals are bad, which is an absolute fallacy.”
The market for white grape is highly competitive and, since Egypt and Morocco started supplying the European market with white grape in direct competition with Spain, growers in Murcia have started to opt out of Superior Seedless production.
The only way to make a good profit in July is to find new varieties that have a point of difference, according to Gavin Pearce at exporter AMC. Production of Superior Seedless at AMC has dropped from 1,300t last year to 800t this season, but volumes of the Ralli variety, a red grape exclusive to AMC, has reached 1,500t this season. The variety has been on the market for five years, reaching full production in the last two years, and Pearce says AMC is onto a winner. “The white grape market is so competitive that we decided to switch to red grape,” says Pearce. “Ralli has a good berry size, strong colour, bright green vines and a great flavour.” The variety will be available from June 15 to the first week in August, but work to extend the season into August is underway.
AMC has also produced 150t of black grape Ebony, which will come on stream from July 10, to see if demand for black grape is there. “We need to see how a black seedless grape is received on the market,” says Pearce.
The category is not as profitable as it once was and, according to Bastarreche, the UK market is losing its appeal as prices continue to drop each year.
Production costs have gone up ten-fold in the last five years, says Maude, with water and labour proving to be major expenses for Spanish growers. A reasonable return for growers would be £15 for a nine kilo box, he adds, but UK retailers pay around £12 a box.
Water supply is a major issue facing Spanish producers and, in the semi-arid region of Murcia on the south coast, where in some areas rainfall reaches only 150mm a year, the challenges are many and varied. “The biggest single issue in the last 10 years has been water,” says Maude. “Those that have done well have used resources well, but businesses have to be a certain size to invest.”
Murcia can meet only 10 per cent of its water needs, according to Bastarreche, and neighbouring Spanish communities are called on to provide much-needed supplies. But this comes with a hefty price tag. Growers must shell out 70 euro cents for 1,000 litres, and this soon adds up, with a single tree needing 18 litres of water a day.
Expenses spiral with the added cost of labour and, as in many countries across western Europe, it is getting harder to find workers willing to pick the fruit. Bastarreche says the majority of the work is still done by the family that runs the individual vineyard, but he admits an increasing number of migrant workers will have to be drafted in over the next 15 to 20 years. The grapes are hand picked when they are ripe, with each bunch cut from the vine and trimmed individually, which ensures highest quality fruit from the source.
The rise in production costs has not been matched by returns for growers, according to Maude, and Spanish exporters are no strangers to price pressures from UK retailers. “UK supermarkets want to be cheaper because that is the way they operate, but they are reacting to competitive pressure, rather than consumer pressure,” he says. “If you have good grape out there, shoppers will buy it, regardless. To sell, the way the product looks is the most important factor - the colour, the size, the representation,” he adds. “But for repeat sales it is the sweetness that counts.”
Maude insists the biggest impact on sales growth is made with quality, not price. “Fruit quality and consistency of supply are important factors, but whether grapes sell for £14, £15 or £16 for a nine kilo box is irrelevant,” he says.
Foods from Spain is to launch its £235,000 promotional campaign for Superior Seedless, partly funded by the growers through their trade association and by Spanish government body ICEX, this month. This is the third year that the push for Spanish grapes has been incorporated into the integrated campaign by Foods from Spain. “It’s great to see more attention given to the point of sale in UK supermarkets, which is particularly important in stores where there is a high footfall,” says Maude.
Superior Seedless from Spain will hit UK supermarket shelves from July 15 to August 15, some two weeks earlier than usual. The Foods from Spain campaign will stretch the duration of the season, with adverts in both the consumer and trade press backed up by trolley posters in Sainsbury’s from July 17 to August 13, a six-sheet poster campaign in Morrisons for two weeks from July 16, as well as leafleting in stores and aisle partitions. A total of 1.8m items in Morrisons, Asda and Somerfield will feature a competition in which one lucky family will win a holiday to Spain.
No comments yet