It has been a record-setting fall for the California table grape industry.
From Sept. 8 through Oct. 12, the California table grape industry shipped more than 23 million boxes worldwide, setting a new five-week record, according to a news release from the California Table Grape Commission.
The daily shipping numbers are voluntarily reported to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to Kathleen Nave, president of the commission. However, most of the industry participates, making the data reliable from year to year, according to the release. Typically, actual volume is about 22% higher than the voluntarily reported numbers.
“It is pretty easy to add 22% to the last five weeks of USDA data and see why the expectation is that the shipments will have blown away industry actuals,” Nave said in the release.
The commission expects the record volumes to continue through the fall, according to the release.
Recent tariffs have had a small effect on shipments, but California table grapes are shipping into all of the industry’s traditional export markets, Nave said in the release. Exports were down less than 8% through August.
