About 50% of mid-season grape varieties soon to be harvested in Chile could be split because of heavy rains from Valparaiso to O’Higgins, according to a news release from Fedefruta, the Chilean fruit growers association.
“These rains were a climatic phenomenon out of proportion, a catastrophe that fruit growing had not seen before,” Fedefruta President Jorge Valenzuela said in a news release Jan. 31.
The central Chile town of Malloa was “ground zero” for the rains, according to the release.
“At this moment, we see that the most affected fruit crop is table grapes, and we estimate that 50% of the mid-season varieties, which were about to be harvested between Valparaíso and O’Higgins, have split,”, Valenzuela said in the release.
Valenzuela said in the release that 40% of the volume of annual exports of fresh fruit by Chile are tied to table grapes, and said the damage will create economic and employment problems.
Besides grapes, the release said damage was also reported on stone fruits in the central zone and blueberries to be harvested from Ñuble to the south.
In the Malloa area, about three inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours, according to the release, damaging fruit and causing disease pressure.
Through Jan. 23, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that season-to-date shipments of Chilean grapes totaled 19.3 million pounds, off from 42.4 million pounds the same time a year ago.
