The California industry is encouraging USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to permanently abandon approval, deeming it a "risky proposal".

With tighter supplies from California and Peru, the sector remains optimistic as it projects a 5.2% volume increase year-on-year.

"U.S. producers do not want this system to be implemented and the fact that Chilean importers want it should hold no weight for the USDA," says the President of the California Table Grape Commission, Kathleen Nave.

Spot banana business out of Ecuador and the specialized reefer-centric Chilean grape season are especially vulnerable to the delays. 

After 20 years of work the Systems Approach has been authorized by the technical organizations of both the U.S. and Chile, it now awaits publication in the Federal Register by the USDA.

Provid’s General Manager Alejandro Cabrera tells FreshFruitPortal.com that the decrease is mostly due to weather phenomena.

The increasing frequency of El Niño and La Niña events is undeniably impacting grape production globally, introducing unpredictability into growing conditions.

For the upcoming 2023-24 term, the U.S. is projected to take 56% of overall shipments, with Asia and Europe following with a 19% and 16% share, respectively.

The firm successfully demonstrated that the patented variety named IFG Six and the trademark Sweet Sapphire were in wide use despite the company’s ownership of the intellectual property. 

AUTUMNCRISP® grapes are transforming the table grape category, and consumers are taking notice.