FAS EU reports that the EU is set for a 14% fall in its grape crop in 2019/20 (June/May), mainly due to a fall in the main producing country, Italy, where output fell 25% due to heavy rains during flowering. Production is also down in Romania (-12%) and Greece (-1.4%), while the crops are larger this year in France (+10.3%), Bulgaria (+9.2%), and Portugal (+1.2%). Volumes in Spain are expected to remain flat. 

China has granted Spanish grapes access to its lucrative market. The protocol allows exports to commence immediately in the current campaign. Negotiations had been ongoing for several years. 

For the first time, Chile’s shipments of cherries FOB are worth more than their exports of table grapes, showing a clear shift in the country’s priorities. Cherry exports reached US$1.3 billion in 2018-2019, compared to US$1,1 billion for table grape exports. In volume terms, grapes still have supremacy 652,000 tons of grapes compared with 180,000 tons of cherries in the same period. 

Italy’s grape sector is desperately trying to stop the alarming decline in production. Since 2008, the country’s production area has shrunk by 66%, from 70,870ha to 46,850ha. To reverse this trend, the sector is working to improve quality, innovation and promotion. Despite the decline, Italy is still Europe’s leading producer (over 1 million tons), with Puglia and Sicily leading the way. One area in which Italy needs to change is in its varieties, which for now are mainly with seeds, whereas the trend is now very much for seedless. 

Despite starting two weeks later than usual, the first indicators are that this Greek season will be a good one. Unusual weather conditions have led to a slight delay, but the quality is said of the seedless grapes is reported to be excellent, with very good sizes. The first Greek grapes (red seedless) come from Crete, while the harvests from the rest of Greece are still a month away. The Cretan grapes join the Italian and Egyptian fruit that is already on the market.

As the 2019 Australian grape season draws to a close, exporters are looking back on a highly successful campaign, with record volumes exported to China and good quality thanks to favourable growing conditions. Australian table grapes entered China ten years ago. Today, the giant Asian market accounts for about 37% of Australia’s total export volume of 110,000 tons. 

Spain’s fruit producers and exporters association (Apoexpa) is satisfied with the 2018 fruit growing season and is looking forward to an improved 2019 campaign. At this point in the season, there have been no adverse meteorological phenomena or diseases to damage the region’s crops. President of the association, Joaquín Gómez, said that Murcia’s stone fruit and table grape campaigns were both looking good, especially for stone fruit, which should bounce back from last season’s lower crop. Another advantage for exports is that the harvest should commence a week earlier than usual.

Om Gayatri is a consortium of Indian grape farmers. “Our members are some 500 small farmers who grow grapes and other fruits,” said coordinator Pratiksha Kale. “Each farm is on average 10 ha, so our capacity is about 200 tons of grapes monthly, plus around 50 tons of other fruit.” Fruits are distributed to the domestic market and exported to the Middle East and Sri Lanka. “Our farmers are in the process of GlobalG.A.P. certification,” said Kale. “After obtaining this certificate, we will diversify our markets by exporting some volume of fruits to Europe.”

South Africa’s grape season is not going well. Despite the efforts of retailers, grape stocks are not sufficiently reduced, due to low demand. By mid-February, most of the supplies could not be sold to cover costs. In addition to the hesitant demand, the supply pressure was increased by quality problems and too short a shelf life. Low-priced actions in the food retail trade (e.g. 1.49 €/kg) could only temporarily create some breathing space. The bottom line is that the customer reach remains below previous years.

Spanish grapes have gained access to the lucrative Chinese market. The agreement was signed in December and follows two years of work to obtain the necessary protocol. Spain is the EU’s leading producer of seedless table grapes, which are particularly popular in China. Spain is also working on finalising bilateral protocols with China for strawberry and cherries. The agreements come as demand for fruit in China is increasing.