T&G bounces back with second commercial Peruvian grape harvest - FreshFruitPortal.com

T&G bounces back with second commercial Peruvian grape harvest

More News Top Stories
T&G bounces back with second commercial Peruvian grape harvest

After extensive flooding impacted crops last year, T&G Global is now back on track for its table grape export deal from northern Peru. 

The company's first at-scale harvest of commercial Ivory and Sugraone table grapes has been five years in the making since the group purchased farmland in the Piura region in 2013. 

The fruit is currently being picked and packed for shipping to Europe, after the harvest began late last month with early green seedless varieties.

Next week will see the start of the second harvest wave of Autumn Crisp and Crimson seedless grapes.

T&G Global executive general manager international Sarah McCormack is very pleased with the "excellent" color and consistency of the grapes packed to date.

“So far we’ve packed 20,000 boxes with a 96.2% pack out. Projections are that the total crop will be around 220,000 boxes which we’re really pleased with given this is just our second commercial harvest from Peru," she says.

T&G harvested its first commercial crop from Peru in 2016, but a coastal El Niño event led to flooding in the South American country last year. 

T&G will ship current volume to Europe instead of the US this season as domestic volumes of table grapes remain high in North America.

“The USA still has around 50% of its domestic crop to sell and that volume is not predicted to clear until late December or early January," says McCormack.

"We are also receiving good pre-order demand for Peruvian crimson seedless and red globe table grape varieties in China as the China/USA tariff issues continue."

T&G's general manager for South America, Felipe Rodriguez says he and his team expect to finish harvesting on Nov. 20.

"In Piura, we have the ability to manipulate the harvest slightly and we plan to finish by late November before the temperatures get too hot in December," he says. 

T&G now owns 340 hectares in total with 136 planted in Piura.

Subscribe to our newsletter