In this installment of the ‘Agronometrics In Charts’ series, we study the state of the California grape industry. Each week the series looks at a different horticultural commodity, focusing on a specific origin or topic visualizing the market factors that are driving change.

Grapes are a year-round staple in grocery stores, but the true essence of fresh-from-the-vine California grapes is only captured in the summer and fall; a remarkable 99% of the grapes produced in the United States come from California. Harvesting in the major grape-producing regions has commenced and will continue until November. Early harvests started in May in the Coachella Valley, with the San Joaquin Valley now in full swing. Growers this year expect exceptional quality grapes, with the first varieties showcasing large sizes.

A significant portion, 30-35%, of the crop is destined for export to countries including Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, Central America, and Singapore. Despite competition from other countries such as Chile, California grapes dominate the market during the summer months. Last season, Hurricane Hilary struck during the peak harvest period, resulting in a loss of approximately 30% of the initial crop projection.

This led to the smallest grape crop in California since 1994. This season, the sector anticipates promotable volumes through early January. Nick Nakashian, Director of Content Development at the California Table Grape Commission highlighted a new global marketing campaign being launched for the 2024 season.

This campaign will target the U.S. and 21 export markets, aiming to encourage consumers to purchase California grapes as a healthy snack, particularly during holidays, celebrations, and for gift-giving. The initial estimate for the 2024 California table grape season is 94.4 million 19-pound boxes, slightly lower than the 2020-2022 average of 96.6 million 19-pound boxes.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.

(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.

(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

In our ‘In Charts’ series, we work to tell some of the stories that are moving the industry. Feel free to take a look at the other articles by clicking here.

All pricing for domestic US produce represents the spot market at Shipping Point (i.e. packing house/climate controlled warehouse, etc.). For imported fruit, the pricing data represents the spot market at Port of Entry.

You can keep track of the markets daily through Agronometrics, a data visualization tool built to help the industry make sense of the huge amounts of data that professionals need to access to make informed decisions. If you found the information and the charts from this article useful, feel free to visit us at www.agronometrics.com where you can easily access these same graphs, or explore the other 21 commodities we currently track.