The last two weeks has been the period for grape sales. The Shanghai region is known for the Malu grape variety. Recently, the YY Fruit and Vegetable Cultivation Cooperative released a new variety called 'yellow honey grapes'. They are produced in Jinshan region near Shanghai.
"Yellow honey grapes are a hybrid variety. At first, they were called 'Yellow jade' and were produced in Japan. It was bred from a jasmine sprout. Since it is yellow-white in colour and very sweet with an average of 17 to 18 brix, it was later also referred to as the yellow honey grape," explains Mr. Wu from YY Fruit and Vegetable Cultivation Cooperative.
The grapes are different in taste from traditional grapes. "Yellow honey grapes taste sweet and intense, but they also have a strong jasmine fragrance. This is the most special characteristic of the yellow honey grapes."
The yellow honey grapes are usually harvested from the later part of July. They can be supplied until the end of August. This year for example, the yellow honey grapes have been on the market for two weeks. We estimate that they will stay on sale until August 25. "The supply season for yellow honey grapes is about a month. So we invested some effort to keep the grapes fresh and launched vacuum packaging of the grapes. This kind of packaging matches cold storage. The shelf life of the grapes can reach 10 days. The packaging is also immensely popular in supermarkets."
"Apart from 2.6 hectares for yellow honey grapes, we also cultivate a small new variety. It's called the black rose grape and it is going on sale right now. Black rose grapes are fragrant and sweet, with a sour hint. It has a firm peel and juicy fruit flesh. You don't have to spit out the peel, so the grapes are similar to western grapes. They also have no pits and are named one of the best varieties on the Chinese market. The variety has yet another characteristic: the grapes don't crack and they don't fall from the bunch. This means it's a very good variety seen from the consumer side. A grape that tastes good and has other superior sales advantages is sure to have a lot of future potential."
