Mexican table grape production is down this year compared with 2019 but promotable volumes will start earlier.
AALPUM, the table grape association for Mexican table grapes, postponed the annual Sonora Spring Summit because of the coronavirus COVID-19, but gave the report in an hour-long Facebook live event on March 19, the original date of the summit.
The 2020 estimate for Mexican grapes is 19.7 million 19-pound boxes, about 3.9 million boxes down (20%) from the 2019 packout of 23.6 million boxes. That crop, however, was significantly higher than the 2018 production of 16.37 million boxes.
Shipments of Mexican grape volume to the U.S. will begin in mid-May and will continue to early July, according to Juan Laborin, general manager of AALPUM, Allowing for transportation to various markets, promotions can begin soon after that, he said.
“We have got plenty of grapes to promote and we are coming earlier than last year,” he said.
Flame seedless should see promotion opportunities from late May to late June, with mid-season green grapes available in good supply from early June to early July and black seedless promotions expected from late May to late June.
Laborin said a freeze hurt perlette volume considerably, with 2020 output predicted at 800,000 boxes, less than half of the 1.7 million box output last season. Some growers pulled part of their perlette variety vineyards out after the freeze, he said, so production is likely to be close to this year’s output in future seasons.
Other estimates from AALPUM, are:
- Early-season grape variety output is rated at 2.8 million boxes, up slightly from 2.6 million boxes a year ago;
- Red seedless output for 2020 is forecast at 8.65 million boxes, off 19% from last year’s total of 10.7 million boxes;
- Mid-season green variety output is estimated at 4.15 million boxes, down 18% from 5.08 million boxes a year ago;
- Red globe production is 300,000 boxes, down from 306,000 boxes last year;
- Black seedless forecast at 1.5 million boxes, down 22% from 1.92 million boxes in 2019; and
- Other grape varieties are forecast at 1.5 million boxes, up slightly from 1.2 million boxes last year.
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