The volume of U.S. table grapes in storage has increased slightly from the last report two weeks ago, but it is well below last year's level.

There were 11.7m boxes reported as of Oct.15, according to the USDA's Western Fruit Report Grape Cold Storage Summary.

That figure is up by 13% on the 10.4m boxes in previous report from two weeks ago.

But it is 27% lower than the 16.1m boxes registered one the same date one year ago. That season saw exceptionally high stocks in October and November.

The figure is also 8% down on the 12.7m boxes registered mid-October report in the 2017-18 season. 

In this latest report, the year-on-year difference is largely explained by much lower volumes in the 'other white' category (1.3m compared to 2.9m) and Scarlet Royal (3m compared to 4.1m).

The biggest increase is in Autumn King (2.5m compared to 2.2m).