El Niño could affect Chilean table grapes
El Niño could affect Chilean table grapes
The presence of El Niño can significantly influence weather patterns across large portions of the globe for an extended period of time. “El Niño is real,” stressed Mark Greenberg, president and chief executive officer of Capespan North America, a global supplier of fresh fruit. “Its impact is felt with increased moisture and precipitation in the eastern Pacific, and its effects will most likely be felt in Chile and Peru [this season].
“When it assembles in a manner that dramatically affects South America, it usually makes its first presence known around Christmas, and this is what is expected in Peru this year,” he continued. “But its impact on Chilean table grapes could be more extensive. If the powerful El Niño effect that all are predicting actually comes to pass, we could see more summer rain in Chile`s mid-season table grape growing areas and more humidity. Depending upon the stage of the grapes’ production, this can have varying effects on fruit condition and quality.”
The weather in northern Chile, where the country’s earliest grapes were being harvested in early December, appeared to be having a more seasonable early summer with clear warm days after having suffered devastating autumn rain and a peculiarly cool early spring.
Greenberg pointed out that the weather in the areas to the south of Copiapó, from where the mid- and late-season grapes will be harvested, is a little less normal.
“There has been unusual morning cloud and risk of precipitation, especially in areas close to the Cordillera,” he said. “In early December, we normally expect clear warm days with no real risk of rain.”
