The season has started with a delay calculated at between 14 and 25 days and now the temptation of many senders will be to send their fruit to the higher earning non-dollar markets such as the UK and the euro zone.
According to figures from Decofrut in the Chilean press, sendings up to last week were running 56.7 per cent behind last season’s levels to the same point in the campaign.
But large volumes are just around the corner, according to Rodrigo Echeverría, president of the growers’ federation Fedefruta, due to intense cold of last winter, which stimulated production in the vines. “The solution will be to open up new markets such as India, China and Japan,” he told the Chilean press. “There is no oversupply in these markets and no limit on the export window.”
But rising costs due to the low dollar as well as higher energy and labour costs mean that looking at expensive longer term storage is not an attractive option for many growers.
Meanwhile in South Africa, the latest figures from the South African Table Grape Industry (SATI) show that exports are still well down on last season’s volumes. Grapes cleared for export to January 19 were 22.5 million cartons compared to 28.2m last season. Berg River supplies wer e3m down compared to 2006-07 and the Hex River and Oranger River areas were 1m down each with declines in the Northern Province and Olifants River area down 650,000 and 300,000 cartons respectively. “There are approximately two weeks left in the late Orange River area while the Northern Province region is basically finished packing,” said SATI’s Elaine Alexander. “Volumes have been between 10 per cent and 15 per cent down in each region, but still remain within the regional estimates. This trend will continue on the remaining two regions and thus far, all regions have been characterised by fruit with good berry size and colour.”
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