Grape Varieties

10/10/2023

Developing new varieties grows opportunities

The table grape industry has experienced significant advancements in terms of grape varieties in comparison to other fruit items. Globally, there are numerous table grape breeders, including well-known entities such as IFG, Sun World, Grapa, and SNFL.

In recent years, there has been a notable surge in demand for green seedless grapes, with varieties such as Autumn Crisp and Sweet Globe exhibiting great success and dominating markets worldwide due to their size and flavor profile.

In Asia, the Shine Muscat, which originated from Japan, has emerged as a popular premium variety, with neighboring countries such as China and South Korea increasing production volumes over the past five years.

This has led to a natural decline in prices, resulting in greater market exposure and popularity across all segments. The volumes of this variety are growing enormously. While the older Crimson variety remains highly sought after for red seedless grapes in many countries, newer varieties such as Jack Salute, Sweet Celebration and Candy Hearts have also gained traction. However, the demand for black seedless grapes, despite being the healthiest option among the three, has been declining globally.

New varieties such as Midnight Beauty, Sweet Favors, Sable, and Adora, are slowly replacing the dominant Autumn Royal. With the introduction of these new varieties, consumers are presented with a growing number of options, while growers face the challenge of selecting the right varieties to cultivate and invest in based on the growing conditions of their origin and the demands of their target markets.

It will be interesting to observe how the table grape industry evolves in the years ahead. We as Aartsen are always in discussion with our partners on the supply side to discuss these trends and developments within the grape categories.