With a record table grape crop expected from Mexico this spring, shippers are counting on big promotional support from retailers to move the crop at a decent f.o.b. price.

“The key this year is we need support from retail,” said Carlos Bon, vice president of sales for Divine Flavor, based in Nogales, AZ. “The pricing will be aggressive.”

Vanguard's Peru grape harvest may be complete, but there is still one-third of the product from the season still to arrive in markets as the company's global team continues to navigate a challenging supply chain.

Up to week 8, Peru has shipped 61.5 million boxes of grapes, this is 10 percent more than last season year to date when Peru had shipped 55.7 million boxes. The Peru season this year will very likely hit 64 million equivalent boxes, an increase over the initial forecast of 62.5 million at the beginning of the season.

AM Fresh Group and Rio Blanco have combined to establish Terramara Fresh, a joint venture powerhouse of innovative table grape varieties and sustainable farming. For over 30 years, Rio Blanco — through its Terramara investment — has thrived as a competitive farming platform. The new combined partnership will focus on production of a diverse array of premium varieties to offer customers a breadth of high-flavored, disease-resistant and high-antioxidant table grape varieties.

Each March, agricultural companies from around the world take a moment to give appreciation to their workforce in celebration of Farm Worker Awareness Week. For companies such as Divine Flavor and its parent company, Grupo Alta, this week is especially important as both companies put a huge emphasis on embracing their workforce with excellent social programs.

AM FRESH Group and Special New Fruit Licensing announced a definitive agreement under which AM FRESH is acquiring International Fruit Genetics and merging it with SNFL, creating a combined company that significantly advances their abilities to further develop breeding capacities and add to their innovative portfolio to address unprecedented industry demand.

The grape market is high right now as imports from Chile and Peru are tight. According to Markon, prices are easing and volume is rising. Company officials said, “importers continue to battle shipping delays from South America, but the situation is slowly improving.”

For both red and green grapes, Markon said the market has started to inch down due to increased supplies as Chilean green grapes will be on the market until mid-May and Peruvian supplies will ship through mid-March. Mexican stocks will become available by mid-May.