Weather may limit next Peruvian grape crop

Peru saw continued growth in the 2022-23 season, but that may not be the case next season.

From October 2022 to March 2023, shipments of table grapes from Peru amounted to 590,000 tons, reflecting an increase of 11 percent compared to the 533,000 tons shipped in the same months of the previous campaign, Fernando Cillóniz Benavides, the president of the Inform@cción, said in Agraria.

Cillóniz pointed out that the Piura region — a major producer of table grapes along with Ica — is suffering from the rains, which could affect the next table grape campaign (2023/2024).

“The torrential rains that have been recorded in that region are spoiling the sprouting of the vine plants. The outbreak is spreading, and the famous mildew is affecting it, which could harm Piura’s production from October of this year, when the next campaign begins,” said Cillóniz.

In this sense, Cillóniz hopes that winegrowers in that area of the country know how to control mildew, either with fungicides or with re-pruning, which increases their production costs.

“In grapes we are not certain of growth in the 2023/2024 campaign due to the fungus that can affect the production of table grapes in Piura. In the case of Ica, there are no problems, so the production of said fruit in that region will increase,” he said.

He added that for the national production of table grapes to grow, the production of both Piura and Ica must grow. “If one of these regions does not grow, it is likely that national production will not grow,” he concluded.