Harvest situation in the Southern Hemisphere, week 10, 2011

Table Grapes

A deficit in degree days in the northern zone, combined with a surplus in the southern zone, led to an overlap of harvest dates for Red Globe grapes in Chile. Currently, the recollection process between Copiapó and San Fernando has registered progress of 50%.

The situation implies sales opportunities were lost for the Chinese New Year, but opens up another opportunity in Europe, including Russia for the delayed fruit. This applies especially to the fruit from northern Chile that grew without rains and has a better resistance to long travel periods.

The Flame Seedless harvest was successfully completed with fruit in good condition during the season. Many orchards registered performance improvements and better distribution of size compared to the previous year, adding to a lower instance of splitting.

Estimates show for the 2010-11 season Chile should export around 844,000 metric tons (MT), followed by South Africa (198,000MT), Peru (88,300MT), Argentina (65,500MT) and Brazil (65,000MT).

Related story: Delays cause Chile Red Globe grape oversupply

Source: iQonsulting/www.freshfruitportal.com