Major producers and exporters of table grapes in the Southern Hemisphere—Chile and Peru—joined forces at the Global Grape Convention 2024. This collaborative event allowed countries in the region to speak on the current issues affecting the market and seek collaborative solutions to tackle global challenges.

The global table grape production is currently facing several challenges, making the balance between supply and demand a crucial factor in the industry. 

With adverse climate, logistics issues, problems affecting the growth and development of the crop—including new ones—and updates in market trends shaping the sector’s roadmap, supply has increased, but demand has not risen at the same rate.

This imbalance has led the industry to reconsider how it should approach the future.

President of the Chilean Fruit Grapes Committee, Ignacio Caballero, noted the timeliness of the event and its importance.

“We had a very good season, which both Chile and Peru needed, but we understand that this is circumstantial," Caballero explained. "Now we need to work and think about the future, taking advantage of the good season to determine what needs to be done as an industry."

“The first message we want to stress is we need to challenge the paradigms,” he added, detailing five key areas the industry needs to reflect on and address.

“First, the good season was a climatic shock," he said. "We need to keep working because we have tough season ahead of us. Second, the great challenge for table grapes is the sustained growth of supply, which has been nearly 80% in the last 20 years, far exceeding demand and will continue to grow. Our role is to understand that we need to have adequate supply in terms of quality and condition, but if we don’t do something to increase demand, the business will continue to tighten.”

Ignacio Caballero.

Alongside working with the current demand, the third rule to keep, according to Caballero, is to “forget about sales.”

“Forget about windows of opportunity. What we need to focus on now is the consumer—what product we need to have and what the consumer wants. People don’t go to the supermarket or point of sale thinking about origin; they want a consistent product, regardless of whether it’s from Chile or Peru.”

The fourth paradigm is that the competition between Chile and Peru is ending.

“We are on the same journey, facing the same challenge. This event is a strong signal that we will work together on understanding and meeting consumer needs, offering a good product, and collaborating across the entire supply chain,” 

For the fifth and last campaign, Caballero emphasized that the industry’s competition is not with other fruit industries.

“Consumers want healthy snacks; we have plenty to compete with and a huge market to penetrate. New generations want healthy foods, and there is demand everywhere.”

Sustainability

Manuel Enrique Yzaga, President of the Association of Table Grape Producers of Peru, told event attendees that both countries are “finally one.”

In his address, he sent a message to Chilean industry representatives. “From Provid, we will continue to collaborate to find the sustainability that our industry needs. This is just the beginning; there is much more to discover and value.”

“Let us be aware that we, as representatives from the Southern Hemisphere, provide fruit to the Northern Hemisphere; we are on the same game field and at the same moment,” he noted.

To achieve industry sustainability, Yzaga asked attendees: What is needed in Chile, Peru, South Africa, Mexico?

According to Yzaga, answers should include greater profitability, educating the public about the grape industry's value, further increasing transparency about water usage, identifying and focusing on the areas where grapes are produced more easily, and accurately determining how many days the fruit remains in cold storage at its final destination without deteriorating.

Manuel Enrique Yzaga.

He added, “If we don’t break the glass, we’ll never talk about the things we need to address."

“We know the great effort that producers, exporters, and packers put in every day. We appreciate the spirit of collaboration between countries; we target the same markets, face the same challenges, and are confident that we will find common goals after this event.”

The convention was the result of collaborative work between Yentzen Group, the Chilean Fruit Grapes Committee, and the Association of Table Grape Producers of Peru (Provid). The event had an attendance of 1,050 people and 60 companies.