Early in the California table grape season, producers are pleased with the year's development, with fruit in good condition and a responsive market.
We spoke with David Espinoza of Hronis Inc. for an update on the season. Espinoza explained that although they have been harvesting for just a month, the season has progressed quickly, and the market is showing solid weekly consumption.
"All the volume we harvest daily is shipped in the next few days during the same week. This means there is no accumulated volume as in other seasons in the refrigerated warehouses," he explained.
The latest report from the USDA shared by the California Table Grape Commission shows that year-to-date shipments have been higher than the last three-year average, reaching 12,714,617 boxes up to the week of August 2.
By the same date last year, shipments had reached only 7,369,712 boxes, indicating a challenging season for the state's industry.
Source: USDA
Espinoza added, "The quality and condition of the fruit is very good, which also means that consumption is sustained since the stores do not show losses due to quality issues."
He explained that as a result, retailers continue to order inventory weekly to maintain a steady and stable supply to the end customer.
"The back-to-school promotion is starting soon in most states and this date is very good for fresh fruit consumption since it is still summertime," Espinoza said.
Regarding the weather, which proved challenging last season, Espinoza said that although temperatures have been high, plants adapt and farmers mitigate the effect by keeping the fields hydrated with sufficient irrigation.
"However, some heat wave days may affect some fields but nothing that is immediately measurable in volume," he added.
Growers are still waiting for the peak of the season, estimated in mid-September, to assess the total volumes and prepare promotions for important dates like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year celebrations.
As the season is just starting, there is still a long road ahead, Espinoza says, "We usually never finish before the last week of November, Allison red seedless and Autumn King, Autumn Crisp, and Autumn Crisp greens can go as late as December in some areas of the Northern San Joaquin Valley."
In addition, companies ensure supply for late-season programs by storing boxes of ready-to-pack volume in coolers from the last volume harvested in November for the three seedless colors," he concluded.
The initial estimate for the 2024 season is 94.4 million 19-pound boxes of table grapes for California.
Related article: Positive outlook for California table grapes in 2024
