Mexican grape volumes steady in 2023

TUBAC, AZ — Mexican table grape growers expect the 2023 crop to be slightly larger than last season.

At its annual summit held March 22 in Tubac, Mexico’s Sonora table grape growers association (AALPUM) estimated 21.7 million boxes for the 2023 season, with just over half in green grapes. That would be up 1.3 percent over last year’s 21.4 million boxes.

Producers report a sharp drop in red globe varieties, a variety that has been falling out of favor for some time, said AALPUM president Marco Antonio Camou.

The Mexican grape window, usually mid-May through mid-July, showed strong results last year due to lower volumes of early cherries.

Decreased volumes of summer fruit in the U.S. — due to prolonged bad weather in California — also could help create demand this season, Antonio Camou said.