Fluctuating supply volumes are making it difficult to gauge the success of the grape market at present.
The bare facts show that the retail market for grapes in Britain has risen by 1.7 per cent in the past year to £570 million [Kantar Worldpanel, 52 w/e 22 January]. However those increases were driven exclusively by price rises, according to Kantar analyst Matthew Ward, while volume sales have fallen by 4.3 per cent.
“The past year has been a difficult one as there have been a number of periods of real supply issues,” says one source.
Following lower than expected crops from South Africa’s Orange River and Chile, prices rose by around six to seven per cent in mid-2011, which had an impact on volume sales, the sourced added.
However in the last quarter prices have started to come down again as more product comes onto the market. “We’re now seeing quite a messy market with some heavily discounted product, particularly away from the main supermarkets,” he added. “South Africa and Chile have both had big crops and so we’re seeing quite a congested market.”
There is at least a feeling that the larger crops now on the market and the slightly lower retail prices will help get consumption growing again, although there are concerns in some quarters that the early Chile crop may finish a little ahead of schedule.
Further afield, Indian grape exports are expected to suffer after a sudden drop in minimum temperatures in the Nashik district, according to the Times of India. The severe cold has affected the region’s vineyards, the newspaper said, and the current season is likely to see a fall of 25 per cent in exports to 22,000 tonnes as a result.
Another factor said to be having an effect on sales is the continued move over from grapes sold in bags to punnets. With as much as two-thirds now sold in punnets, that trend is expected to continue.
“We are seeing very little sold in bags these days,” said one insider in Chile. “It won’t be long before someone switches to 100 per cent sold in punnets,” he predicted. Packing at source also significantly reduces costs, he added.
From a varietal development perspective coloured varieties continue to take share from white seedless, with black seedless now making the grape category a genuine tri-colour offer. South Africa has already exported half of the entire volume of black seedless that it managed in the whole of last season, at around 562,000 containers, a fact which only underlines the growing importance of black seedless on the market.
And some observers believe this range of offer will bring more opportunities for grapes to become known to consumers by varietal name in the same way as happens with apples.
Certainly the large number of named varieties coming through from the breeders suggests that possibility will be there. There are substantial trials taking place in South Africa, Chile and other key production regions, which are already seeing promising new varieties coming to market, and more are expected to come through in the coming years.
At last year’s Global Table Grape Congress in South Africa breeders spoke optimistically about new varieties coming through and their ability to enthuse consumers and boost sales of grapes in all major markets in which they are sold.
And with a plethora of new red and black grapes showing excellent taste and shelf-life credentials, there is every possibility for the category to grow as these filter through to shelves.
Among the retailers, Asda has been the best-performing store in terms of growth, with a 3.4 per cent increase on the back of selling more volumes on promotion than other supermarkets. The growth is starting to address Asda’s position of undertrading on the fruit.
“This shows potential for further growth in 2012,” said Kantar analyst Ward. -
RED IS THE COLOUR
As the grape harvest in the Hex River Valley reaches its peak, grower-exporter EXSA took time out to show off the latest red seedless variety that will significantly bolster exports in the years ahead. Fred Meintjes reports
The exciting new red seedless table grape variety Sweet Celebration has been harvested and packed for the first in South Africa. The first grapes will be on the shelves of Sainsbury’s in the UK during the second week of March.
It is anticipated that as much as 2.5 million cartons of the variety could be produced in South Africa in a few years time. EXSA, which is one of four
companies licensed to export Sweet Celebration from South Africa, marked this milestone in mid-February with a tasting of some of its new varieties at the farm of Leon Viljoen in the Hex River Valley. On the table were a number of varieties which are still in the testing phase but which already show huge promise to become significant players in the South
African grape basket.
They were tasted by a panel of growers and new cultivar evaluators, in the presence of Sainsbury’s product technologist Sarah Blanford. Not surprisingly, Sweet Celebration came top among the tasting panel, with a black seedless known only as 177 and a red seedless with a brilliant pink colour, known as 191, following closely behind.
There were also a number of varieties with very promising flavours and tastes, but some of them struggled to achieve acceptable berry size and will therefore probably not make the grade. “We are looking for producer-friendly, good-eating varieties which will do well in this valley,” says Hex grower Anthony Hill.
Black seedless 177 is expected to do well in early areas and may strongly compete with Midnight Beauty.
In South Africa’s late growing regions growers have a problem finding suitable varieties that will cover the market in late April and May. Only seeded varieties are available and the search is therefore on to look for red and black seedless varieties that will do well in the Hex River Valley.
“At the moment white seeded varieties are not an option for this region, and our production will increasingly be dominated by red and black seedless,” Hill explains.
In general, South African growers have a problem producing the right colour on varieties such as Red Globe and Crimson Seedless, particularly for the Far East. In the early areas there is not enough colour, and in the late areas they are too dark. That is why there is much excitement about the first year’s trial with the pink seedless 191. It colours naturally and will be a major boost in all markets.
Among those who joined the February event was five-year-old Sandumic Japie, from the farm crèche, who dressed up in traditional colours to pick her own two bunches of Sweet Celebration. The variety was developed by American breeder David Cain and will be marketed under the umbrella of his company, International Fruit Genetics (IFG). This means that the marketing will be restricted to certain exporters and that the hectares to be planted will also be restricted. This will not please all South African growers, who believe that it is wrong to restrict the marketing of these varieties.
In South Africa the export licensing is controlled through a company, IFG RSA, with EXSA, Colors Fruit and Capespan each holding 30 per cent of the shares, and Paarl’s Eddie Redelinghuys having 10 per cent. -
No comments yet