Chilean grapes staggered by rains and aftermath

Heavy rains in late January continue to take a toll on Chilean grapes, growers report.

Jorge Valenzuela, president of the Chilean fruit growers group Fedefruta, said in a Feb. 18 news release that there are areas in Chile where fruit harvest has stopped because of fruit loss.

The damage from the rains has been made worse by fast-advancing rotting and fungal diseases in the fruit.

Damage to the Chilean fruit crops, once estimated at $150 million, is worse than that, he said in the release.

“The rot and fungi have advanced in such a way, due to the high humidity and the temperatures of the following days, that at this minute the table grapes are not being harvested in the central zone; they are not even being packed,” he said.

With input from growers, Fedefruta projects the loss in white table grapes will be between 70% and 80% of production, from the central zone to the south of the country. In red grapes, losses will run close to 30%, he said.

The release said the Aconcagua Valley, in the Valparaíso region, already reports 42% less production due to the rains and the aftermath, compared to the same period in 2020. Meanwhile, in the O’Higgins Region, the release said there is “no certainty” about how growers are going to harvest varieties such as scarlotta, crimson and red globe. “Today it would be very optimistic to think that we will be able to harvest 30% or 40%." he said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Philadelphia f.o.b. prices for Chilean white seedless jumbo grapes at $26-30 on Feb. 17, up from $22-24 per carton a year ago.