ROME - Good quality, average production, regular sales, facilitated by competitive prices and an excellent debut in the export phase.
These are the main elements that characterize the 2020 campaign of Italian table grapes according to the latest Ismea Focus 'Fresh Fruit Trends', centered this quarter on table grapes.
The offer, explains Ismea, is characterized by "a good quality profile" and in terms of quantity, "the production is on average in recent years, as the drop in yield per hectare recorded in some areas, due to a trend non-optimal climatic conditions were compensated for by the entry into production of new plants ".
Moreover, year after year, the Italian offer is enriched with seedless grapes, which are increasing both the hectares invested and the varieties in production.
As for the market, the institute underlines, "the original phase has so far experienced different moments with fluctuating prices and not always judged satisfactory by producers".
In the retail phase, on the other hand, "sales proceeded regularly facilitated by a good quality profile and by a price that - this year - is particularly competitive with respect to other species of summer fruit, in particular peaches and nectarines, which raise prices high due to the scarcity of supply ".
On the foreign trade front, there was an excellent start of the export campaign, "not so much from the point of view of prices, on average below 5.5% compared to the first half of 2019, as for the quantities exported which are up by 35%. Imports of off-season grapes and early fruits were in line with those of the last three years. "
In recent years, finally reports Ismea, the statistics relating to areas planted with table grapes in Italy have settled at around 46,000 hectares.
These are concentrated in Puglia and Sicily.