Decofrut presents the State of the Market for table grapes during January, looking at supply, demand and pricing for three markets - the U.S., Europe and China.
In January, higher volumes of table grapes were recorded in China's wholesale markets, especially seedless white seedless grapes and Red Globe. Almost all of the supply originated from Peru, with few pallets from Australia and South Africa.
The white seedless group showed fair to good movement over the course of the month, but higher supply pressured prices in recent weeks. On the other hand, lower prices were seen in black seedless, caused by the higher supply, which caused a slow inventory turnover.
Finally, red seedless and Red Globe recorded higher values, due to the growing demand for the Chinese New Year celebration.
On the supply side, the main white seedless varieties consisted of Sweet Globe and Autumn Crisp, while in black seedless there was mainly Sweet Sapphire, Sweet Favors and Sable Seedless.
On the other hand, the first pallets of red seedless grapes of the season were also seen, although intermittently, coming initially from Peru with Sweet Celebration (at the end of week 1), and registering supply in week 4 from both Australia and South Africa with Ralli Seedless.
With respect to last month, prices for the group with the largest number of shipments, white seedless, averaged US$5.41/kilo (-6% compared to the previous month), with only a 2% decrease compared to the previous season.
Red Globes averaged US$4.21/kg (+8%), registering prices that were 55% higher than last season. For black seedless grapes, prices averaged US$5.38/kilo (-27%), 11% higher than last season. Finally, the group with the lowest volumes, red seedless, closed at US$4.67/kilo, 14% higher.
During January, the situation remained complex in the U.S. table grape market, maintaining limited volumes of all varietal groups, especially in white seedless and red seedless, which kept prices high throughout the period.
Imported volumes towards the end of January began to increase gradually, with Peru the main supplier, while Chilean supplies are expected to see an increase of greater impact in mid-February, especially for seedless red varieties. For white seedless varieties, the largest arrivals are expected to take a little longer.
As for the volume of table grapes traded on the spot market, these were 11% lower than the previous month (considering all origins), while those coming from the southern hemisphere saw a monthly increase of +128% compared to the accumulated total as of December 2021.
Looking at prices, imported white seedless averaged US$4.01/kilo in January, representing a monthly variation of +7% and annual variation of +42%. Red seedless averaged US$4.26/kilo, a value 14% higher than in December and +56% over the previous year, same month.
In black seedless the average price was US$3.89/kilo, increasing by 30% monthly, while registering 16% higher than the previous year. For Red Globe the average price was US$3.12/kilo, along with a monthly increase of +18% and annual increase of +19%.
Entering the new year, the situation in the European table grape market remained quite positive, due to the fact that the available supply was low, especially of white seedless varieties.
As the weeks went by, certain quality and condition problems became apparent in some consignments, especially in seedless varieties of fruit from South Africa, which, although they had an impact on price and competitiveness, did not reduce the rotation of fruit since supply was rather limited.
Peru, with fruit from the end of the season, arrived with good grapes in general, with isolated problems that did not cause major difficulties at the time of marketing. From Chile, table grape arrivals were quite limited.
Red Globe from Peru continued to dominate the supply of red grapes with seeds, but was accompanied by the first lots from South Africa and Namibia towards the end of the month.
The supply of seedless grapes was made up of a wide range of varieties, with Crimson Seedless being strongly positioned in the red seedless group and Autumn Crisp, as well as other new varieties, being highlighted for their good quality and overall condition.
As for selling prices, as a reference, during week 04 of 2022, the overseas white and red seedless varieties in punnet format were sold at averages of €2.85/kilo and €2.80/kilo, respectively, while, as regards to Red Globe, prices averaged around €2.60/kilo (4.5 kg box) and €2.15/kilo (8.2 kg box) for the Peruvian offer.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that January was marked by continuous delays by shipping lines and container unloadings, which left weeks with abundant supply and others in which there were shortages.
It was difficult to comply with the schedules, since the necessary volume was not available on the estimated dates. At the same time, this scenario originated some nervousness, so that some importers preferred to clear their stocks quickly, even at lower prices, for fear of being left with them for a long time.
