Stable demand, value and acreage for California table grapes paint a positive picture for the future of this agricultural sector.
"That is why the table grape industry continues to prosper," said California Table Grape Commission Executive Director Kathleen Nave. "There is constant investment to achieve fruit quality and yields. Growers assess markets and plant varieties that are in demand and meet market windows."
The open windows are the very first of the season, in May, for the Coachella Valley and the tail end of the season, meaning early December, in the San Joaquin Valley. Nave said there were still 11 companies harvesting table grapes in late November and they expect to ship grapes through January and possibly into February.
Fall rains did not affect San Joaquin Valley table grape vineyards covered with plastic to protect the crop.
Coachella Valley grapes don’t have the late season challenges, as their harvest ended in June. John Burton of Peter Rabbit Farms said their grape quality was good across all their varieties, but production was down for some. After an off year like this one, they expect higher yields at the next harvest, he said.
The total California 2011 crop is estimated at 97 million 19-pound boxes, slightly less than last year’s crop total. Christopher Valadez of the California Grape and Tree Fruit League said that the average table grape volume for the state over the past five years has been 92.1 million boxes. Last year’s crop of 98.3 million boxes was valued at $1.25 billion. Valadez said the outlook for this year was consistent with 2010.
California’s table grape sector has demonstrated a strong pattern of stability in acreage, production and value, said Valadez. Acreage has remained fairly stable over the past five years at about 100,000 acres. Many older, less desirable varieties have been pulled and replaced with new varieties that are more marketable.
According to the California Chapter of American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, sales of table grape vineyards were essentially non-existent in the southern San Joaquin Valley in 2010, indicating stable to slightly increasing values. Vineyards were valued at $12,000 to $15,000 per acre in Kern and Tulare counties, with few vineyards offered for sale.
Newer varieties and innovative trellis systems have increased growing efficiency and boosted production even though acreage remains stable. There are more than 75 different varieties of table grapes grown in the state, with the top 15 varieties making up 90 percent of the volume. The three varieties with the most acreage in production are crimson seedless with over 15,000 acres, flame seedless with more than 19,000 acres and red globe with more than 11,000 acres.
Twenty years ago, Nave said, seeded varieties were in demand and they still have an export market, for them, but demand for seedless varieties is much stronger.
Exports continue to be the strong point for the table grape sector. Nave said that California table grapes are being shipped to 60 countries this year with Canada—at 38 percent of total volume—and China being the top two customers.
Mexico ranked second in table grape shipments in 2008, but Valadez said a 45 percent retaliatory tariff caused shipments to plummet 73 percent in 2009. The Mexican government targeted 89 products including fresh grapes when the U.S. government cancelled a pilot program that allowed Mexican trucks to operate within the U.S. Five million boxes were sold in 2008 and volume decreased to 1.7 million in 2009. The tariff was suspended in October of this year and Valadez said he expects strong export volume to Mexico to become reestablished.
Southeast Asian countries take about 50 percent of California’s table grape exports, Nave said. The commission’s marketing campaign there included retail promotions in January.
Valadez said U.S. table grape competition remains mostly counter-seasonal, with Chile as a leader. He warned that China continues to grow in table grape production and has filed for access to the U.S. market.
In addition to the competition, table grape business leaders have concerns about labor availability, given recent federal legislative proposals including mandatory use of E-Verify.
Another key issue affecting the table grape sector is new food safety rules. The Food Safety Modernization Act signed in January 2011 is intended to shift food safety regulations to prevention rather than control or investigation after the fact, Valadez said.
For growers, a new rule that will be issued in January will require the Food and Drug Administration to develop science-based standards for fresh produce. Valadez said there is deep concern about how this could affect table grapes—a commodity without history of food safety contamination. Table grapes could be lumped in with crops grown and irrigated with similar methods and placed in a higher risk category, without regard to their history.
On a positive note, 2011 did not see any extreme pest and disease problems for table grape growers. There were no table grape movement restrictions due to quarantines to keep European grapevine moth from spreading.
Retired Kern County Cooperative Extension advisor Don Luvisi said spring rains did cause some outbreaks of botrytis and growers had to keep up with fungicide applications. There was an uptick in glassy-winged sharpshooter populations in Kern County, he noted. The state is still funding control in citrus, a crop that provides a winter home for the pest. Luvisi said grape growers should continuously monitor vineyards for Pierce’s disease, which is spread by GWSS, and remove infected vines. Surveys of vineyards show the disease, which is fatal for grapevines, can spread quickly if infected vines are not removed.
Nave said table grape business leaders are very concerned about continuation of state and federal funding for invasive species trapping and exclusion programs. Funding at a level that keeps invasive pests from becoming an economic problem is vital to not only table grapes, but other fresh fruits for exports, Nave said, adding that growers continue to trap and monitor for pests.
(Cecilia Parsons is a reporter in Ducor. She may be contacted at ceciliaparsons8@gmail.com.)