US(CA): Strong market for green grapes
Light supplies at the end of the Chilean import season have contributed to a strong market for gre…Light supplies at the end of the Chilean import season have contributed to a strong market for green grapes. Coachella's harvest is slightly behind schedule, so the transition from imports to domestic supplies hasn't had much of a buffer.
"There was not a lot of volume left from Chile when California started, and we started a little later than usual,” said Stevco's Jared Lane, “so there wasn't a big overlap with the California season." Combined with Coachella running three days behind schedule, prices have been up.
"The red grape market has been good because there wasn't as much Chilean inventory when the Coachella harvest began. We are catching up, and the markets are starting to come down on those," noted Lane. “But Markets have been very good on green grapes due to a shortage out of Chile."
On May 26, prices for an 18-pound container of Sugarone grapes from Coachella were between $32.95 and $36.95, and prices for a container of Flame seedless grapes were between $19.95 and $22.95.
Lane added that he expects good volumes for both green and red grapes by the first two weeks of June.