Frutas de Chile marketing director describes current situation as “unsustainable”
Table grape producers from around the world are expected to join a new retail and consumer marketing organisation called Global Grape Group, which has announced the launch of its first ever campaign Have a Grape Day in the US.
The group wants to boost consumption of grapes by explaining more about them to consumers, especially when it comes to health benefits, flavour and convenience.
As reported in The Packer, representatives from Chile, Mexico and Peru have already signed up to the initiative, while others around the globe – for example in South Africa and the US itself – are described as likely to join in the near future.
The organisation is expected eventually to target consumption growth not only in the US but in several different international markets.
Ignacio Caballero, director of marketing at Frutas de Chile, and a board member of the Global Grape Group, described the present situation with regard to market supply and demand as “unsustainable.”
“The grape industry is at a turning point right now,” he told The Packer in an exclusive interview at Women’s History Month event Femme 2025. “Supply has grown 80 per cent in the last 20 years, while demand is only growing at 13 per cent.”
Together, Chile, Peru and Mexico ship around 100mn boxes of table grapes worth over US$2bn to the US each year, a volume that is said to be growing by 15-20 per cent each year.
But according to Caballero, the market is oversupplied “and no one is investing real money in growing demand.”
