The export season for California grapes could soon be wrapping up. “So far, we’ve been able to get what we need but our volume is significantly down. We’re not out looking for as much fruit as we’ve had in the past,” says Brandon Ruppert of Cohen Produce Marketing.
This season Cohen Produce is shipping grapes out of California to the Philippines and because of limited supplies and the conditions of the grapes, has opted to not ship to other export markets including Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The shorter grape supply comes post Hurricane Hilary in August. “The storm kind of took a lot of people off guard. When the forecast started coming in, I think growers realized they were in harm’s way so they picked a lot of fruit right before to have it in storage. Then it took a week or two after that to start to feel the immediate crunch and it’s been tough since then,” Ruppert says.
Better than predicted
That said, the season does look to be extending slightly longer than expected. “A month or two ago, the season looked pretty bleak and people were wanting to finish a lot sooner. However things have worked out in that the varieties that were hurt, most were what was ready to pick,” he says. “So the late hanging grapes still had plenty of time to react and be in good condition. That’s what we’re looking at now--fruit that people didn’t think they were going to have is turning out to be fine so we’re able to extend the season as long as we can.”
"Fruit that people didn’t think they were going to have is turning out to be fine so we’re able to extend the season as long as we can,” says Ruppert.
Historically, Ruppert doesn’t handle direct imports. However post-California season, customers are asking the company to source imports from other growing countries so it’s moving into a strategy change towards handling imports.
On varieties, Cohen Produce is shipping good supplies of Red Globes, Autumn Royal Black seedless as well as Allison and Timco Red Seedless, though the latter variety is winding down rapidly. On green grapes, it has Autumn King, though that will also finish within days. “It’s getting late for them and a tough season has made it the time to quit,” says Ruppert.
Low export demand
As for demand, on exports, it is at an all-time low given the supply situation. Ruppert notes he should be loading two to three containers a week and now is when it usually starts loading six to eight containers a week for holiday business overseas, and instead, is loading next to nothing.
What is moving though is seeing stronger pricing because demand in the U.S. for California grapes is strong. “Supply is low so they’re able to get record-breaking prices for red seedless varieties at this time of year that aren’t priced like that normally,” he says. “On black grapes and Red Globes, they are pretty steady from where we would be in a normal year. I have not been able to buy any red seedless for overseas because my customers have told me that pricing is too high.”
All of this is leaving the California grape industry mulling over new possibilities for the future. “In discussions I’ve had, the feel from growers is they’ve realized that in seasons where they were trying to get 120 million boxes of grapes--it’s actually harming the industry,” he says. “Yes with the hurricane they lost a lot of grapes and money. However, they realized they could manage crops a lot easier and get better pricing when they only grow 75 to 90 million boxes. There’s a silver lining to this that maybe they’ll learn from it and get back to a crop that’s more manageable rather than trying to grow volume and ending up in the same situation every year with full coolers and nowhere to go with it and pricing at the bottom of the barrel. Every once in a while it’s good to have a season that can limit what’s out there so we have better command of what’s going on.”
For more information:
Brandon Ruppert
Cohen Produce Marketing
Tel: +1 (717) 975-9111
brandon@cohenproduce.com
http://www.cohenproduce.com/