The demand for seedless grapes has been growing in Europe for the past ten days and the Italian produce seems to be the most appealing to foreign operators, as it is the only one still available on the market from our continent. "We have had to wait until the end of the season to rediscover the liveliness we were used to," reports Donato Fanelli, an entrepreneur from Puglia and member of Commissione Italiana Uva da Tavola.
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"Although the socio-economic and geopolitical context has slowed down sales and reduced prices, seedless varieties have always done better than traditional ones. From the end of October, however, we can confirm quotations have gone back to being acceptable and maybe even higher than a few years ago, as we are talking about €2.50 to €3.50/kg."
FreshPlaza has asked Fanelli why this is. "Usually, starting from November, the European market is flooded with produce from South Africa, Chile and Brazil. This year, however, the first bunches have started to appear only after the first week of November. There has been a delay in production and planning for grapes from overseas and, since they seem to be 30% more expensive than 2021, procuring them is not as profitable. Italian companies are therefore taking advantage of this last window. The majority of producers will end their 2022 campaign over the next few days, but there are some who will continue until the end of the month thanks to cold storage."
And what about Italia grapes? "The Italia variety, which has always been considered our forte, is not going through a positive period. This confirms what has been said in the past few months/years about consumer preferences and the market orientation towards seedless grapes. On the one hand, we have extra-quality produce that is being appreciated, although sales are slower. On the other hand, we have mass production which is ending up in cellars, especially because of the weather. Anyway, I believe consumption will pick up as we approach Christmas."