According to Juan José Ibarra, from the sales department of the Murcian company Moyca, importing table grapes in Spain, as well as in the rest of Europe, has remained a challenge since November due to various factors. Thus, meeting the demand from Spanish retail chains in the weeks leading up to New Year's Eve, perhaps the most important campaign, has made it necessary to pay extra costs.
At the request of its clients, Moyca continues to invest in the development of its import programs for the off-season months, and it is also working in the opening up of new markets.
"In the last few weeks, it has been really difficult to get table grapes from Peru and Brazil, and in fact, the same trend has been observed at this time already for the last 3 or 4 years," says Ibarra.
"It is worth recalling that, just as we saw also in the United States, the Mediterranean season, with Spain and Italy at the lead, ended earlier than expected. This added more pressure than usual on Peru and Brazil, where heavy rains fell in week 43. Complications with international transport resulted in long delays that have led to a particularly dramatic drop in the grape supply in Europe over the last two weeks," he says.
"All European operators have suffered the consequences of this situation," says Juan José Ibarra. "However, in our case, we have chosen not to pass the abusive prices we paid to secure the supply of grapes on to our customers. Thanks to this costly effort on our part, sales have not stopped and consumers have not been aware of this situation. Such is our commitment to service," he says.
"Faced with the great challenge of obtaining table grapes at this time of year, we have also had to limit the supply to some clients to prioritize the New Year's Eve campaign, which is perhaps the most critical time of the year and one in which we cannot afford to fail," says Ibarra. "Our aim is very clear: to guarantee the supply of fruit, even at a higher cost, and to deliver the best possible quality."
According to Moyca's sales agent, "although the situation is now improving a little compared to previous weeks, the early varieties from Namibia have been absorbed mainly by the United Kingdom, one of the countries that consumes the most grapes and which has imported grapes from Namibia by air at exorbitant prices due to the critical situation of the supply. South Africa is consequently starting its harvest earlier and selling it at very high prices. Although more stability is expected in the coming weeks, there will continue to be pressure and high prices in the market," says Juan José Ibarra.
For more information:
Juan José Ibarra
Moyca
Tel. :+34 968490848
Tel.: +34 689251843
[email protected]
www.moyca.org