Page 16 - October freshletter_UK

14 FRESHLETTER

ÒGrapes

DO WE FACE A CHANGE OR WE ARE STILL ON THE SAME TRACK?

For the last 10 years the profits from the cultivation of Thompson Seedless have been on a downturn,
especially in the Corinthian region, which was once the top productive region in our country. But
why did we reach the point of talking about abandoning the table grapes today? What’s wrong? Is this
situation reversible?

We have been talking about enriching Corinthian Producers are lacking of the fi-
our varietal map with new table grape va- nancial strength and the courage to try
rieties for many years. Indeed, our maga- something new. On the contrary, in Kavala
zine has, over the years, raised this issue we have no abandonment of property, but
high on its journalistic agenda, while the only restructuring, while in Creta there are
conclusions from the Table Grape Confer- restructuring, but at a slow pace.
ence, which we organized during FRESKON
2018, have shown exactly that need. The situation today
In the restructuring process, the trad-
Getting knowledge of the new ers’ role is crucial. That is, in order to pro-
varieties ceed with the planting of a new variety, the
When we say new varieties in our coun- necessary agreements must first be signed
try today, we are referring to the ARRA, between the holders of the varieties, the
Volcani and IFG varieties. All of these se- trader and the producer. This development
ries offer seedless varieties of grapes of in itself brings something new to the table
all colors - and of course they are vari- grape market.
eties with royalties. Mr. Theodorou Dimi- Note that about 250 Ha have already
tris (dimitris@jupitermarketingltd.com) is been planted with the ARRA and IFG se-
in charge for the ARRA series, Mr. Spanos ries. Actually, this year the production vol-
Dimitris (dimitrios.spanos@grapeevolu- ume from the ARRA series will exceed
tion.com) for the Volcani varieties and Mr. 1.000 tonnes, with JUPITER being the sole
Kanakis Giannis is in charge for the grapes buyer of these grapes, while the IFG se-
of the IFG (ykanakis@ifg.world). ries will render significant grape produc-
We do not intend in this report to eval- tion next year.
uate these new varieties. The best judge, Regarding the Volcani series, the plant-
after all, is the Market itself, which in a few When we say new varieties ings in our country exceed the 30 Ha and
years will publish its verdict. What is of next year will have their first remarkable
value to us at this time is to look at the in our country today, we are production.
changes taking place in the table grape According to Mr. Kanakis, the planned
sector in our country - and above all, what referring to the ARRA, Volcani plantings of the IFG series for 2020 and
will be the “next day” in this sector. and IFG varieties. All of these 2021 will bring this series to our country
in an acreage of about 500 Ha, while the
Abandonment or restructuring? series offer late seedless expected production volume will be over
In the challenge of “tomorrow”, each ta- 20.000 tonnes. If we take into account that
ble grape productive area of our country - varieties of grapes of all the ARRA series in these years aim to ex-
Creta, Corinth and Kavala - responds in its pand to 300-400 Ha, then on 2025 the to-
own way. Specifically, in Corinth most of colors - and of course they tal volume of production from the new va-
the estates are abandoned because of fi- are varieties with royalties rieties will reach 40.000 tonnes.
nancial hardship but also because of the It should be noted here that the new va-
scarcity and the high cost of water, rath- rieties that are planted are all late, that
er than being restructured with the new is, they are harvested from mid-Septem-
varieties mentioned above. Generally, the ber onwards - and most of the planting is

OCTOBER 2019