U.S. retailers are focused on table grape imports and fruit in cold storage as the local harvest period has come to an end.
The California industry is encouraging USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to permanently abandon approval, deeming it a "risky proposal".
Spot banana business out of Ecuador and the specialized reefer-centric Chilean grape season are especially vulnerable to the delays.
Incoming volumes this season culminated at 37.1 K tons, a 24% decline compared to the highest volume of 48.6 K tons recorded in the 2021/22 season.
The milestone follows significant efforts in the Latin American country to plant new grape varieties and become more competitive on the world stage.
Shipments are estimated at a total aggregate volume of 69 million boxes (8.2 kg), which would mark an 8% drop year-on-year.
Following the announced proposal by the USDA’s APHIS to ease import requirements for Chilean table grapes, authorities and industry leaders from the Latin American country have expressed their support for the proposed change.
“The key aspect of this Committee is to create a strategy for the Chilean table grape sector to address both the challenges and the opportunities it faces,” said ASOEX.
Uvanova's Carolina Cruz and Martin Silva said: “We consider this season to be one of the worst, given that previous bad seasons - which saw water scarcity and rain during harvest - have had lasting effects.”
In the 2021-22 table grape season, countries in the Southern Hemisphere achieved a new export record of 1.5 million tons, an increase of 0.3 million tons in a decade.
