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Joaquin Valley begins in the late spring and early summer.
“It all has to do with how the weather behaves on both the Coachella Valley and Mexico, but in general, in the past few years Mexico has started earlier than Coachella, especially because in Coachella they are not producing Perlettes or similar early green grape varieties,” says Suarez. “But even on the Flames, Mexico has been ahead of Coachella five to seven days in the past few years. But anything can happen, and this is definitely not a rule.”
The longer season in Mexico can produce as much as six times the volume of the Coachella Valley harvest.
“Mexico starts before and ends after the California desert,” says John Pandol, director of special projects at Pandol Bros. in Delano, CA. “Mexico ships four to five times as many grapes as the California desert. At May 31, 2017, Mexico had crossed 9 million cartons and Coachella about 1.5 million.”
Most Mexican table grape production is concentrated in a handful of varieties that have proven adaptable.
“Flame dominates with close to half the volume, followed by Sugraone at about 15 percent,” says Pandol. “There are still more
than a million Perlettes. Summer Royal and other blacks are a mixed bag, with some plantings being removed and others going in. There are more than a million cartons of black grapes. Red Globes are down to less than one million. The so-called ‘new varieties’ are in low numbers and in few hands.”
Most shippers report red grapes predom- inate in the spring.
“In our program, the majority are red grapes,” says Yubeta. “We’ve been using Perlette, Sugraone, and Red Flame, but people are growing many varieties.”
In addition to the predominant red varieties, there are also green and black table grapes that have proven amenable to spring production in Mexico and the Coachella Valley.
“On green grapes, we have Perlette, and Sugraone for this year,” says Suarez. “On red varieties, we have Flame. On black varieties, we have Summer and Autumn Royals and on the seeded red varieties, we have Red Globes.”
Although all three colors are readily produced in Mexico, few specialty grapes do well below the border, say importers.
“The proprietary breeders have done a poor job of dealing with this market, although it is improving,” says Pandol. “Dominant are Israeli whites under three
or four names, a Spanish line of both reds and whites and selections from at least three California breeders. Some varieties have worked out well in Mexico and others are being abandoned, so it’s hard to know what’s increasing and decreasing.”
Some change in varieties could be on the horizon if breeders decide the Mexican production area warrants more attention.
“Consumers’ preference for the past few years has leaned more to the red grapes, in Mexico and also in Coachella,” says Suarez. “Red grapes have prevailed the most, and until now, the red variety that has prevailed the most is Flame Seedless, but that will change in the next few years. There are some new varieties still in the infant stage, but that will change in the next few years, which will change and revolutionize the grape business worldwide.”
What has not changed is the standard pack- aging for grapes, according to California Table Grape Commission statistics, as more than 80 percent of the Golden State’s U.S. shipments are in bags and 15 percent in clamshells.
SOME CHANGES ARE COMING
There are some new things under the springtime sun, including major shippers
‘CALIFORNIA ONLY’ PROMOTABLE REGION
Over the decades, California has developed a table grape brand that pays off at the retail level.
“One of the key reasons to promote California grapes is consumers prefer them,” says Jeff Cardinale, vice president of communications at the California Table Grape Commission in Fresno. “California grapes are preferred by 91 percent of purchasers — target audience of primary shoppers age 21 to 64 over imported grapes — if the price is the same. Cali- fornia grapes are still preferred — 68 percent of the time by the target audi- ence of primary shoppers age 21 to 64 — when priced higher than imported grapes.”
There is even a science to merchan- dising California table grapes during their peak season.
“Spring is a great time to highlight the start of the California grape season — America’s local grapes,” says Cardinale. “In order to obtain optimum sales results,
target an average of at least 25-square feet of space devoted to grapes during May through August. Space allocation of more than 25 feet can generate up to 63 percent more dollars per store per year than sets under 18 feet. Abundant, fresh, high-quality and well-maintained grape displays generate increased grape sales. Make sure all three colors – red, green and black – are displayed to create more visual appeal.”
No other growing region has yet established a geographic brand identity worth promoting at retail.
“I’m not aware of any geographic location other than California that is promoted,” says Earl McMenamin, Cali- fornia and Mexican grape manager at Pacific Trellis Fruit in Los Angeles.
Beyond the Golden State, signage to let customers know where the grapes were grown tends to be limited to mandatory country-of-origin labeling.
“The majority of retailers do some sort of country-of-origin labeling, and all the bags have the country printed on them,” says Steve Yubeta, vice president of sales and marketing at Farmer’s Best International in Rio Rico, AZ.
Regardless of the country of origin, however, many consumers welcome the arrival of spring table grapes.
“Spring grapes are an item, people are excited to see,” says Yubeta. or as a spread on toast or sandwiches.” pb
54 / APRIL 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS