Mexican grape packout up nearly 20%
Growers in Mexico are expected to produce about 25.5 million 18-pound boxes of table grapes this season — an increase from last year’s packout of about 21.3 million boxes.
The estimate was released March 24 during a virtual webinar hosted by the Mexican Table Grapes Growers Association, or AALPUM, in Hermosillo, Mexico.
Presenting the estimate were John Pandol, director of special projects for Delano, Calif.-based Pandol Bros. Inc. and grape division chairman for the Nogales, Ariz.-based Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, as well as Marcos Camou, AALPUM association president.
Where the grapes will be shipped remains to be seen, Pandol said. Markets in the U.S. and Europe are potential destinations.
Related: Strong table grape crop expected from Mexico
Good quality is expected this season as a result of weather conditions Pandol described as “so far, so good,” with nothing negative on the horizon.
The season should get underway about five days earlier than last year, with significant volume shipping by May 15. Plenty of white grapes should be available the week before Memorial Day.
“By Memorial Day, the faucet should be on full blast,” Pandol said.
Promotable volume of good-quality grapes from Mexico should be available from Memorial Day, May 30, through the July Fourth week.
“We’re going to have four weeks of 4 million boxes” in the middle of the season, Pandol said.
Flame seedless grapes will be the most widely produced variety, with 9.3 million boxes, followed by mid-greens with 6 million, early greens with 4.4 million, mid-reds with 2.6 million and black grapes with 2.6 million boxes. There will be 333,000 boxes of red globes produced and about 1.2 million boxes of the high-flavor Cotton Candy variety.
The totals do not include volume from Jalisco and other parts of southern Mexico.
The association subdivided the harvest season into three sections.
- Early season — 7,461,953 boxes in May;
- Peak season — 16,587,107 boxes in June; and
- Late season — 1,449,229 boxes in July.
- Grapes from Mexico will be available until mid‐July.
“It will be an inflationary year,” Pandol warned. “Prices need to go up at every point in the supply chain.”
