On-ground inspection of grapes always has value, but there are less likely to be problems with the fruit in market situations in which demand is strong and movement brisk and the grapes move out of the cooler quickly. It is when inventories start to build that inspection services really show their worth, according to Kevin Beno, owner of Fresh Buyers Inspections Inc. in Visalia, CA.

FBI is a quality control company specializing in the on-ground inspection of grapes, tree fruit, citrus and melons out of California and Southern Arizona. The company has been in business since 1991.

Kevin Beno, owner of Fresh Buyers Inspections Inc. in Visalia, CA.The California table grape industry is expecting a large crop, possibly a record crop, this year, with the heaviest harvest and shipping periods being August and September. “If it is a large crop, we never know what the market is going to do,” Mr. Beno said. It will take aggressive promotions to keep the crop moving.

“If the quality is good this year, that helps to get things going,” he continued. “If we have good quality, the fruit will move pretty consistently,” and from what has been seen so far in the San Joaquin Valley this season, quality looks nice.

However, heat spikes and other weather conditions can affect the quality, and many factors can affect markets. When grapes start backing up in the coolers rather than moving out quickly, “that is when we are needed out there to make sure that what is in the cold storage is holding up,” Mr. Beno said. “That is when we prove our worth, our value to our customers.”

FBI’s customers are principally brokers, wholesalers and exporters.

When The Produce News talked to Mr. Beno July 10, he was in the Coachella Valley where the desert spring grape deal was just wrapping up. He was getting set to head home to Visalia for the San Joaquin Valley deal, but he already had company inspectors in the valley covering the start of the deal.

“My guys have been with me almost 10 years, or more,” and most have 15 years or more of experience in the industry, so they are experienced and knowledgeable, and “they have a good idea of what they are looking at.” Customers are “comfortable with them and what they are saying,” and that “helps make the purchase a better experience.”

During the Mexico and Coachella grape seasons this spring, heat spikes and other factors affected quality, Mr. Beno said. “So far, up in the Central Valley, we’ve had a few heat spikes. We’re in one right now. It is hard to tell now if it is going to have an effect on overall quality.” If it does, it will likely affect exports more than domestic trade because of the longer transit times.

So far, the fruit “does seem to be stronger to start this year” than it did last year, he said. It is also more consistent in size and color.

“Again, the condition early on is going to be OK because [shippers] are getting the fruit in and getting the fruit out. But once they start having to hold fruit for a while, when the market gets a little soft, a little sloppy, that is when you start to see some issues. That is when you can see if the heat has taken an effect on the fruit.”

The last couple of years, “we had kind of a tough deal at the end, especially on export,” he said. “The fruit just didn’t hold up. That was due to weather” because temperatures got “real hot in August, 110 and hotter.” That tends to take a little bit of life out of that later fruit. Mother Nature is the one that always has the say in how things go in this grape deal.”

The export side of the business “has gotten a lot bigger” for FBI recently, Mr. Beno said. “A lot of my newer business has been export.” That is “a good sign” for the California grape industry, because the more grapes that are exported, the more it will help the market, he said.