It’s been a solid quarter for table grapes, with the category posting growth in both the volume and value stakes.
Currently valued at £736.6 million by Kantar Worldpanel, a 7.2 per cent rise on last year, the grape market has also seen volume growth of 5.2 per cent, with the annual tonnage sold in Great Britain currently over 223,000 tonnes.
Shopper frequency, penetration and price have been the driving forces behind the growth, according to Kantar Worldpanel, which also notes the double-digit growth both Aldi and Lidl have experienced in the category.
While there have been several reports in the national press recently about British consumers discovering black widow spiders in table grapes imported from Mexico and purchased from different retailers, the fact 57 per cent of consumers say they primarily eat grapes for taste reasons – a figure which is ahead of the total fruit category figure of 55 per cent – should mean any negative press won’t have too dramatic an effect on the market, and consumers’ continued purchase of what is nigh-on a staple in the British fruit bowl.
With so much demand, supply has had to increase and diversify.
According to Susan Day, vice president for international marketing at the California Table Grape Commission, the UK sources its grapes from about 20 countries each year in varying quantities.
She adds: “Against this background of ever-increasing choices, the grape market globally has been increasing for grapes from California. As a result, exports in the 2014-15 season, which runs from May to January, were the second-highest ever following the record set in the previous year, a reflection of a slightly smaller crop.
“While not one of the top-10 export markets for California grapes, the UK was the 11th largest last season, and it is an important market for the industry.”
Within Europe, the UK is the largest export market for California grapes. Exports reached 851,927 19lb boxes in the 2014-15 season, according to Day, and over the last three years, the volume shipped to the UK has increased by 57.2 per cent. The estimate for California’s current 2015-16 table grape season is for production to be somewhere between 110m and 116m 19lb boxes, with no growing or weather issues reported.
Over in the south of Africa, while increasing numbers of small producers in the Orange River region are expected to find it hard to survive after a season in which many of them received poor returns, there is still evidence of expanding plantings and production in the Orange River marketing window.
The increasing number of plantings in southern Namibia is continuing, and exports from this region are expected to have doubled by 2020. On top of this, there have been reports of plans for significant investment in grapes on the South African side of the river, further to the west of the Namibian region of Aussenkehr, and recent investments have been made there by Dole SA, highlighting that leading exporters also seem to be securing more production. Piet du Plessis, chairman of local growers’ association, ORPA, has in the past repeatedly stated that an export crop of around 15-16m cartons is probably the best scenario for the region.
This year, the Orange River has exported 19m cartons with most of the extra grapes ending up in what was already a tight market in western Europe.
Whatever happens in future, it is clear that when this region has such a big crop, these grapes will increasingly have to go to new markets. SATI CEO Willem Bestbier stated two years ago the South African grape sector’s strategic object must be to increase market share in Asia. Despite this though, around 80 per cent of this year’s crop was still sold in Europe.
Elsewhere, exporter Pico Modern Agriculture, one of US breeder Sun World’s exclusive licensees and growers in Egypt, is currently promoting its new range of grapes, developed uniquely to meet the early- and late-season demands of the UK market.
With retailers pushing prices down on grapes, and supply nations queuing up at the UK’s door, expect to see continued growth in the next quarter.
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