Seedless grapes are now grown by approximately 500 growers in the south east of Spain
The flagship variety for the sector is Sugraone, or Superior Seedless® as it is often branded, of which 99 per cent is exported.
The early white grape, bred and registered by Sun World International, has been granted European Community brand name status, which gives Sun World and its licensees the exclusive right to use the trademark on fruit marketed in and to all European Union countries.
Sun World owns Superior Seedless trademark registrations in the US and 24 other countries. The brand is used to promote the Sugraone grape, an early-ripening white seedless variety and only Asociación Apirenas, a group of Spanish growers, is licensed to use it to market Spanish-grown Sugraone. Between them, these growers produce around 8,000t of Sugraone a year.
The industry has shown great faith in Sugraone and its natural three-to-four-week season has been extended by the use of covers. Performance under plastic netting is very consistent and has enabled growers to stretch the season to eight weeks in a good year, with fruit quality uniform throughout that period.
There are no plans in Spain for a major increase in the volume of Superior Seedless® for export, as it has established itself as a premium line and consensus has it that overproduction of a licensed variety in a competitive marketplace would make little sense. Recognition of that is evident in the initial licensing agreement, which places strict limitations on new plantations.
Apirenas ensures that rather than competing with each other, growers are singing from the same hymn sheet as far as Sugraone is concerned and protects against poor quality product finding its way onto the market.
Sugraone may have lit the touchpaper, but Spanish growers have also invested in substantial plantings of other white varieties, as well as increasingly popular red types such as Flame, Fantasy and Crimson Seedless. Growers have looked at the window that exists at the beginning and end of their traditional export period and tightened up production methods and brought in additional protection for the crop to extend the shoulders of the season wherever practical.
Recently imported varieties grown under license are starting to make headway. Ralli, a pink seedless variety that is grown almost exclusively for the UK market, has caused much excitement in the last 12 months. The variety will give retailers additional scope for mixed red and white grape punnets. And black seedless variety Ebony is also expected to make significant progress in the next couple of seasons.
The seeded Red Globe, which has a season that runs right through to December, is another variety that has become part of the portfolio, again as a result of demand from the UK buyers.
However, not content to produce solely imported varieties of grape, ITUM, a group of 18 Spanish grape exporters has stepped up research and development of indigenous varieties.
ITUM’s members decided that rather than plough their own furrow in an intensely competitive category, working together to address the future needs of their industry was the way to succeed. Operating in Murcia since September 2002, ITUM is funded to the tune of e200,000 a year by the private and public sectors.
Grape variety research is not new, but the way it is being carried out through ITUM is. The body itself is financed in three parts: regionally, nationally and with funding through its private sector members. This mix of funding sources for the project is allowing research to progress at an exceptional rate.
Well over 10,000 separate hybrids have already been planted, although the programme is still in its infancy. The companies involved in the project, which covers 80 per cent of the Murcian grower network, have the exclusive rights to produce and market any varieties that are patented through the scheme. Spain is particularly strong in the early part of its season and ITUM is therefore looking at crosses for both early and late, big-berried types. The programme is searching for a white seedless type that will have many of the attributes of Crimson in terms of eating quality, shape and size. And developing grape varieties that are disease resistant and well adapted to local conditions will prove hugely beneficial in terms of cost-savings both pre- and post-harvest
Seven promising varieties across the range of red, white and black seedless have already been picked out and there is an expectation that the first new patented Spanish varieties will emerge in the next three to five years.
The eventual aim of course is to decrease the Spanish growers’ dependence on foreign varieties and to allow Spanish growers, with specifically designed indigenous strains, that are ideally suited to the microclimate, soils and conditions in Murcia, to meet the specific requirements of the marketplace; to fill the gaps that exist in the seedless grape calendar.
Already ITUM’s founding members are getting ready to welcome newcomers on board.
MURCIA IDEAL FOR GRAPES
The autonomous community of Murcia is located in the south east of the Iberian peninsula and accounts for 2.2 per cent of the area of Spain. Its climate, however, is ideal for the production of fresh grape and other horticultural products, and Murcian growers are responsible for most of the grape that is exported from the country.
The region has a semi-arid Mediterranean climate. Annual rainfall is under 350mm and the hot summers can see temperatures rise to 40°C and above. The annual average temperature falls between 16°C and 19°C, depending on the altitude of the area in question and the short, mild winters allow grape production to take place for around six months of the year.
The agricultural sector represents eight per cent of the region of Murcia’s gross domestic product and the UK is its major export market. Grapes sit within an “edible fruits” category of exports which earns the region 600m euros a year.
LICENCED TO THRILL WITH SUGRAONE
The Sugraone grape, an early-ripening white seedless variety marketed by Sun World and its licensees under the Superior Seedless® brand, is produced on 15,000 acres on five continents.
Licensed nurseries receive access to high-quality virus-indexed plant material while licensed growers become part of a global network of Sun World producers, all of whom have access to Sun World’s technical support program.
Licensed marketers in most grape producing regions of the world obtain usage rights to the company’s Superior Seedless® trademark and other promotional programs, while agreeing to adhere to Sun World’s Sugraone quality specifications.
In Spain, according to Sun World, the following companies are licensed to produce the variety:
Agricola Santa Eulalia; Agroexco SL; Alhuva Soc Coop LDA; Ballena Trading SL; Coato Soc Coop; Comerical Ralguero SL; D. Andrés Bastida Julia; Deahlor Soc Coop Agraria; El Ciruelo SL; El Lomo SL; El Murtal SL; Frutas Ali SL; Frutas Esther SA; Frutas Felix Gomez e Hijos SL; Frutas Guadalentin SL Frutas Torero SL; Frutera Internacional SA; Las Cabezuelas Soc Coop; Molinese Distribucion y Mercados SA; Morte Quiles SL; Sat Blanca Sol; Sdad Coop Sagrado Corazon de Jesus “SACOJE”; Superior Fruitcola (Munoz)
SUPERIOR MARKETING UPS GRAPE SHARE
Foods from Spain’s promotional support of Spanish seedless grape primarily focuses on Superior Seedless®. In previous campaigns, the slogan “Spanish Seedless Grape - The Everyday Summer Treat” was used on trolley posters, a national poster campaign outside supermarkets, and in-store radio coverage
The campaign aimed to emphasise the grape as a healthy snacking alternative to sweets and crisps. And to flag up the Spanish heritage of the product, and particularly that it is grown in Murcia.
TNS usage-database figures suggest that 24.1 per cent of grape in the £380 million UK market is eaten by children and kids’ consumption overindexes significantly when compared to all foods. There were a staggering 833 million grape consumption occasions last year and more than one-third of those fell into the snacking category. This increased by 21.4 per cent in the last 12 months. The purchase of grapes, as with some other fruits, is relatively spontaneous; a decision made in-store and based on quality promotion and display.
The new three-year campaign will continue the work that has already begun in a market that grew by nine per cent in 2004.
Maria José Sevilla says: “Research shows that mothers are increasingly concerned about the health and diet of their children and that is one of their primary motivations for buying fruit. We believe consumption levels of grapes and all fruits should be higher than they are. We will continue to market our products actively and to support sales within our retail partners.”
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