California table grape shipments reached 109.1m cartons (8.6kg) in 2017, remaining relatively in line with a three-year average.
Figures released by the California Table Grape Commission (CTGC) reveal the performance was marginally down on the 110m cartons produced in 2016. The industry averaged shipments of 110.5m cartons between 2014 and 2016.
“After breaking the 100m carton mark only six years ago, a 109m carton crop has become the new normal for California table grape growers,” said CTGC president Kathleen Nave.
Trade value came in at US$1.81bn over 2017, down on US$1.85bn the year prior.
The majority of the Californian crop continues to be consumed domestically, with 64.2 per cent of sales made in the US, with exports making up 35.8 per cent of total shipments.
Californian grapes were shipped to 59 countries in 2017 with Canada, Mexico, mainland China, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan the leading markets by volume.
The 2018 California season begins next month and runs through to January 2019, with CTGC preparations in full swing.
“The commission campaign focuses on motivating the trade to promote, and consumers to buy, more California grapes more often,” said Nave.
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