Renato Alves, Commercial Director of the Nova Aliança Agricultural Cooperative (COANA) in Brazil, attended the 2024 Global Grape Convention in Santiago, Chile, which brought together key players in the table grape industry from Chile, Peru, and other regions.

Alves, who is also the president of Nova Forma Consultoria, spoke with Portalfruticola.com about Brazil's table grape industry.

COANA manages approximately 400 hectares of grape production, primarily focused on exports. The farms are located in northeastern Brazil, specifically in the municipalities of Petrolina and Curaçá.

Currently, COANA cultivates 13 varieties of grapes, including the latest seedless white, red, and green grapes. The company started with a small group of producers and is Brazil’s second-largest exporter, supplying over 10 countries worldwide.

Although Brazil competes with fruit from Chile and Peru, Alves highlighted that in Petrolina, there is no designated growing season—the region harvests grapes year-round, 365 days a year.

“The most important harvest season is the Northern Hemisphere's second half of the year,” said the commercial director, adding that the most significant harvest will start at the end of September.

“There is then an opportunity in the first half of the year, with grapes from March, before Mexico. In the second window, we begin exports to the United States. We already work with Europe and the United Kingdom.”

The cooperative also allocates a percentage of production to the local market.  Alves explained ¨there are periods, in the first half of the year, when the domestic market is more significant, we cover about 50-60% of the local market," Then, in September and October, their supply drops to about 9-10%.

Alves noted that, in recent years, the Brazilian table grape industry has experienced substantial growth, including the development of a national variety by Embrapa, the BRS Vitória. “It is black, small, very sweet, with a strong muscat flavor,” he detailed.

For him, grapes are the fruit of the future.” “It’s very easy to consume, you don’t have to peel it, it’s easy to wash, you can eat it as a snack, children can take it to school," he explained. "It’s very practical and very easy to consume."

 Alves is optimistic about the global table grape industry. He clarified that increased availability leads to higher consumption and praised Chile and Peru for their work in advancing the table grape sector.

“Information is crucial," he explained. "There is no grape surplus, there is a lack of information. You need to inform the market when you will have a lot of grapes and run promotions, because consumers who tried the fruit during a promotional week will return.”

The Global Grape Convention 2024 was the result of joint efforts by Yentzen Group with the Chilean Fruit Grapes Committee and the Peruvian Table Grape Producers Association (Provid). The event had 1,050 attendees and 60 participating companies.