Greek grapes are due to start their season more or less on time in the second week of August despite a cold snap in March.
“There will be slightly less volume compared to last year, but actually this is a good thing,” importer Costas Mathiopoulos told the Journal. “There is less fruit on the vines so they are under less stress and the grapes that they have yielded are of better quality. By virtue of there being less fruit, crops have been able to grow better and this has definitely helped the size too.”
Crete is the earliest region to come stream and the harvest has already begun on the island. “Growers started picking last week for the local market but it is only in very small volumes,” said Mathiopoulos. “We could see Crete grape in quantity from the second week of August in the UK closely followed by supplies from Corinth.”
But Mathiopoulos stressed arrivals will really depend on other sources and customer demand. “We will have to see what happens with the Spanish and the Egyptians,” he said. “When they clear the market then customers will turn to us.”
Kavala is the last of the three main regions to come on stream and will probably start sendings around the last week of August.
Supply is almost exclusively Thompson Seedless and availability is secure into October thanks to investment in cool chain and particularly long-term storage techniques in Greece.
The country’s growers have also been increasing their planted area and there have been movements towards extending the offer to include Crimson as the market for red seedless fruit in the UK grows. This and other later season grape could be key in bridging the awkward gap before reliable southern hemisphere supplies start their season. And give the Greeks a run at the lucrative run up to Christmas.
