season has proved strange, as different crop varieties have been ready to harvest between ten days and two weeks in advance. Furthermore, the harvest has also been reduced from a three-week window to about ten days, which poses new challenges for the producers of Chile's leading fruit for export.Juan Carolus Brown, VP of FEDEFRUTA, who produces grapes in Los Andes, V Region, noted that the season was ahead of schedule. The Flame variety was ready ten to twelve days earlier than normal and, at least in the Aconcagua Valley, it didn’t reach the size we expected. We think this was due to the frost and to the thirty days, starting December 10, when the maximum temperatures did not drop below 32-33 degrees, and even reached the 36-37 degrees," said the leader.
The Superior, another early variety, also had lower growth. "Its caliber normally ranges between 20 and 22 millimetres, but what we got now ranges between 19-20 millimetres. This, however, wasn’t because it came out earlier but because the acidity showed up late."
Other varieties
"To sum up how strange this season has been I would say that, even though the Thompson variety was also ready in advance, its harvest window has been relatively normal; just like the Princess Seedless variety, which was ready about ten days in advance, but not with a different concentration so we had to recollect them all in a very short time. The Crimson variety came in a few days in advance, but gave us enough time to work it; and I would say the same thing about the Red Globe variety. Last year we started strong with the Red Globe variety on March 18, so this year it was ready about two weeks in advance. "
Adapting to the season
As this season started in advance and has been particularly short, producers have been challenged, especially to supply the markets on the dates they had agreed upon. "There are varieties that we can store and distribute in time so as to comply with our programmed requests, but there are others, such as the Flame and Superior variety, which can’t be stored," says John Carolus Brown.
Despite the disorder, he added, the importers were very happy with the volumes of white grape, such as the Superior variety, that they received. In fact, the medium sized Flame variety is being sold for more than 20 dollars in the United States. "The green variety with special packaging is selling for over $30. We expect Thompson intended for Korea and England has a return FOB between 22 and 24 dollars per box, something not seen before. We shall see what happens to the Red Globe, as there is much demand for it," he says.
