Market Update for Table Grapes

Week of January 13 – January 19

For months, the South American fruit industry has been preparing for the ILA to strike. Importers have been directing volumes to non-ILA ports, creating some congestion for those shipping lines. Some have incurred great expense chartering their own bulk vessels from Peru, something very rarely done, and others have just taken to stacking inventories as a final safety net. Last week the ILA and USMX came to a tentative agreement, averting the scheduled January 15th strike. They will continue to work under their current agreement until the final draft is executed. The new deal protects ILA jobs, while creating a framework to implement technologies to modernize East Coast ports. Now marketers can get back to work and focus on moving fruit. Some have already started adjusting the spot markets lower, as they need to make room for incoming volumes from Ica. Ica is now packing steady volumes, and we will see even better volumes in February, once Chile really gets going. Shipping lines have put a priority on Chilean cherries, but now that the peak is behind us, look for grape exports to take over. Retailers should be able to take advantage of the shift in market pricing and look to promote table grapes throughout February and March.

Red Seedless

Of the more than 35 million boxes of grapes that are expected to be exported from Ica, just over 8 million boxes are red seedless varieties. There has been such a focus on new production of Autumn Crisp and other green varieties, that new red seedless plantings have fallen behind. Although we will see better numbers over the next 6 weeks, spot availability will remain very light. Programs will swallow up most of the volume, so expect spot pricing to stay very high, especially since Chile will not have enough volumes to impact the market for the next four weeks. Currently, Flames are trading between $36.00 and $38.00 and premium Sweet Celebrations, Jack Salutes and Allison range from $38.00 to as high as $44.00 FOB.

Green Seedless

Steady arrivals of green seedless are hitting the East Coast and overall quality looks very good. Ivory, Sweet Globes and premium Peruvian Autumn Crisp will be available in the market throughout February. Chile will start harvesting some early Superiors and still has a meaningful Thompson crop, with more than 50% of that fruit coming to the U.S. in February and March. Peru is expected to export close to 13 million boxes of Autumn Crisp globally with as much as 7 million boxes hitting our market this year. Currently, Autumn Crisp prices range from $46.00 to as high as $50.00 FOB, but these prices are unsustainable, with strong volumes about to enter the market. Look for green seedless pricing to adjust lower week by week, with prices ranging this week between $36.00 to $40.00 for Sugar Crisp, Ivories and Sweet Globes. Autumn Crisp pricing could settle back to $44.00 to $46.00.