Spurred by lower shipping point prices, total U.S. grape shipments were significantly higher in late August than year-ago levels.
Supplies of California grapes from storages are ahead of a year ago, largely because of last year’s early August rain that wiped out a significant part of the 2023 crop, said Justin Bedwell, president of Bari Produce, Fresno, Calif.
“However, movement has been pretty good this season, so we expect supplies to continue to tighten as we get deeper into the fall,” Bedwell said. “Except for a little heat early on, it has been a pretty good season weatherwise, leading to good quality grapes. The early season heat seemed to push a few varieties up in harvest, which also leads to us expecting to finish a little earlier than last year.”
While Bari Produce doesn’t handle imports, Bedwell said South American imports might arrive by the middle of November, which would overlap with some growers’ late deals in California.
Bari Produce usually markets grapes into early November, he said.
“We used to try and extend the season, but with imports coming earlier and earlier, it seems like our best bet is to pick, pack and ship in a timely fashion,” Bedwell said.
Movement up
USDA shipment numbers for the week of Aug. 25-31 showed total U.S. grape shipments of 4.52 million 19-pound cartons (85.87 million pounds), up 15% from the same week a year ago. California provided more than 99% of all fresh grape shipments, according to the USDA, with very light volume provided by Canada, Mexico, Italy and South Korea.
Through the end of August, season-to-date domestic shipments of central California table grapes totaled 25.4 million containers (482.6 million pounds), up 20% from the same time a year ago. Total truck shipments of California domestic grape shipments in the 2023 season were 61.5 million containers (1.17 billion pounds), according to the USDA.
Export shipments of central California grapes also were way up in 2024.
The USDA reported season to date export truck shipments central California grapes were up 42% compared with a year ago, with export air shipments up 72% and export boat shipments up 4%. Altogether, central California season to date grape export shipments of 2.64 million containers (50.2 million pounds) were up 17% from 2.25 million containers (42.9 million pounds) at the same time a year ago.
Pricing and promotion
With bigger volume, shipping point prices for California grapes were below year-ago levels in late August. Kern District white seedless prices for 19-pound containers in early September were reported $22.95 to $26.95, compared with $30.95 to $38.95 per container under demand-exceeds-supply conditions the same time a year ago. Red seedless prices in the Kern District in early September 2024 were trading at $24.95 to $28.95 per container, down from $30.95 to $38.95 per container the same time a year ago.
For Labor Day retail promotions, the USDA said the U.S. grocery stores promoting white seedless grapes on Aug. 30 totaled 12,325, up from 10,569 stores at the same time a year ago. The average promoted price for white seedless grapes on Aug. 30 was $2.09 per pound, slightly higher than $1.99 per pound at the same time a year ago.
For red seedless grape promotion on Aug. 30, the USDA reported promotions in 8,502 U.S. grocery stores, down from 9,504 stores promoting red seedless grapes the same week a year ago. The average red seedless promoted price for Aug. 30 this year was $2.38 per pound, up from $1.99 per pound the same time a year ago.
Grape changes
A recent poll at the LinkedIn Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group asked, “What is the most significant way the U.S. fresh grape market has changed in the past 50 years?”
With 80 votes cast, those surveyed chose among four options:
- New/more grape varieties — 35%.
- Year-round availability/import— 50%.
- Organic grape growth — 5%.
- Packaging innovation — 10%.
Bedwell said the grape deal has changed a lot in the past 20 years.
“From a grower standpoint, input costs continue to rise, and it will continue to be a challenge to balance out those increased costs,” Bedwell said. “From a consumer standpoint, probably all the varieties is the biggest change. There have been some outstanding varieties that have come about the last 20 years. I still believe that the final product is still determined by the individual grower, but no doubt, the explosion of new, tasty varieties has given the consumer even more choices when it comes to California grapes.”
