From all over the world, Peru felt the pressure to start shipping table grapes early this season. Harvest in northern Peru started at the end of August and at that time, demand primarily came from Europe and Southeast Asia. "The early end of Europe's domestic supplies created a significant supply gap until South Africa starts up," says Ethan Williams with Vanguard Group International. "While we don't have any owned production in the northern part of Peru, we have several partners in that region that have been supplying us since early September," he says. Supply out of northern Peru complements Vanguard's California table grape procurement, creating availability from two origins for the company's global customer base to select from.
Vanguard's owned table grape production is centered around Ica in southern Peru, where harvest of the Ivory green seedless variety will start this week. "This is three weeks later than last year, but only one week later compared to a normal year," shares Williams. "We are feeling the pressure not only from Europe and Southeast Asia, but also from the United States due to California's well-broadcasted early finish." In addition to California's early end, northern Peru's water deficit has led to subpar quality grapes and an earlier forecasted finish. These two events combined have resulted in customers - new and existing – requesting supplies as soon as possible.
Investment in netting
The start of Ica's harvest has been slowed down by cooler temperatures that created a more patient growing process compared to the warmer weather that was experienced with El Niño last season. "On the upside, this patient growing process is expected to yield slightly more volume and an exceptional quality and condition this season," Williams adds. Growing conditions in southern Peru have been smooth and ideal. "No abnormal weather events have occurred, temperatures are moderate, and our field team's preparation has been timely," comments Williams. "We also made the decision to cover all our Ivory grapes with nets this season. This enables us to harvest the crop when the fruit is optimal with little to no concern of potential ambering related to excessive sun exposure. It was a major investment, but we believe our customers will be very pleased with the results we achieve on our early season green seedless."
While it is too early to determine quality for the entire season, the early and mid-season varieties are demonstrating consistent sizing, crunchiness, and a proper balance between acidity and sugar levels. "These are the characteristics we strive for. The balance between these characteristics, known as the maturity index, is the most accurate method to calculate the fruit's eating quality and one that earns Ica's table grapes the reputation for being the best in the world. Late-season varieties should keep the same reputation."
Growth of one million cartons
Production volume for Vanguard is expected to be somewhere in the vicinity of 4.5 million 8.2 kg. cartons. This equates to year-over-year growth of approximately one million cartons. All this growth will consist of the industry's most sought-after varieties, including Ivory, Autumn Crisp, and more. However, for the industry as a whole, the supply situation looks very different. The early end of table grape availability from Europe, California, and northern Peru is creating a situation of undersupplied markets all over the world until Chile ramps up their volumes for late-February arrivals.
This year's demand pattern seems to be very similar to last season, prioritizing a very diversified distribution of production. Vanguard Direct, the company's U.S. sales & distribution entity, will receive roughly 50 percent of grape harvest. When accounting for pre-committed programs and ad-hoc business, the other 50 percent is expected to reach consumers in more than two dozen countries.
For more information:
Ethan Williams
Vanguard Group International
Tel: (+1) 425-427-6181
[email protected]
www.vanguardfresh.com