European grape sales followed a steady tempo this summer, without doing anything spectacular. This year there is a good potential in Italy (Sicily and Puglia) and France.
The harvest could even be slightly bigger than last year, with a very good sugar content due to the heat. Surface areas were slightly down again in Italy (44 460 ha, i.e. 1 million tonnes), especially because of a big fall outside of the traditional production zones of Sicily and Puglia. Italia remains by far the main variety, still representing 45 to 50 % of the stock. In recent years, the renewal has above all involved Vittoria (15 %) and to a lesser degree Red Globe (9 %). However, the supply is also expanding in seedless varieties, with planting of Crimson Seedless and Sugraone, which have now reached 6 000 ha, i.e. 10 to 15 % of Italian table grapes. French production is also holding up, driven by local varieties (4 700 ha, i.e. 41 500 t in 2015). There have been no overall changes in Spain either (13 000 ha and 280 000 t in 2015). The fall in surface areas seems for now to have been halted in Andalusia, with the stock currently fixed at around 2 000 ha. Meanwhile, the frenzy has slowed in Murcia, pending new seedless varieties to expand the range. Seedless varieties represent 30 % of Spanish table grapes (80 % in Murcia). Surface areas are holding up in Valencia in spite of a recurrent drought, yet this year a fall in yield of at least 10 to 15 % is expected in this region. So the campaign could be slightly lean at the end of the season, especially since it arrived around ten days ahead of schedule during the summer.
Source : Infofruit
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