During a webinar, Panorama for Postseason Table Grapes, organized by the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX) and Anasac, Isabel Quiroz, Executive Director of iQonsulting said “due to the rains, the variety that was most affected was the table grapes in areas such as the north-central region”.

“[There,] the harvests of Thompson, Superior and Flame had begun early.”

“The new varieties already represented 26.5 percent of the previous season and varieties from regions III and IV were not affected by the rains.”

She said: “As of February 10, the estimated number of table grape exports only reached 68 million boxes”.

In the southern central zone of Chile, the rain amounted to more than 10mm from January 29 to 31.

The rains also exceeded 50mm in the Santa Brisila (Las Cabras), Hualañe and Molina areas.

Dragomir Ljubetic, Director of the Research Commission for the Development of Table Grapes, Uvanova, said: “What is happening is quite severe. Of total fruit, we will be close to a 35 percent drop in volume”.

Regarding the harvests, Mauricio Flores, Crop Manager Anasac, Advisor and Member of Uvanova said: “It is necessary to gather data and analyze doubtful issues. There has to be a product that is as clean as possible and the fruit cannot say in the vineyard, we need to get it out when it is healthy”.

Last year’s table grape harvest season was marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, this year is also an unusual time for the industry.

“When one described last year’s season, it was healthy and there was no rotten fruit. It was an abnormal season, but it was healthy,” Fernando Riveros, Technical Consultant for table and wine grape exporters said.

“When we entered this new season, it was different. We thought the fruit was going to grow and it was clear that this season would be different. The rain has changed things and now the season is more like those where there were problems.”