Table grapes are grapes intended for consumption while fresh, as opposed to grapes grown for wine production, juice production, or for drying into raisins.
Vitis vinifera table grapes can be in the form of either seeded or non-seeded varietals and range widely in terms of colour, size, sweetness and adaptability to local growing conditions.
Common commercially available table grape varieties such as Thompson Seedless and Flame Seedless are favoured by growers for their high yield and relative resistance to damage during shipment. Other less common varietals such as Cotton Candy, Kyoho or Pione are custom hybrids bred for size, appearance and specific flavour characteristics.
Chile, Peru, the United States, China, Turkey, Spain, South Africa and Australia are all major producers and exporters of table grapes. [1] World table grape production in 2016 is estimated by the USDA to be in the region of 21.0 million metric tons per annum, China alone accounting for an estimated 9.7 million metric tons of this global total. Chile remains the world's single largest table grape exporter, exporting over 800,000 metric tons to mainly North American and European markets. [2] China, by way of contrast, exports only 247,000 metric tons per annum mainly to South East Asian markets; a small percentage of overall production. [3]
The global trade in table grapes has enjoyed strong growth since the 1950s. Since the turn of the century table grape export growth has primarily come from the Southern Hemisphere and developing economies such as Chile, India, Peru and Turkey. [4]
The international trade in table grapes has significantly benefitted from the increased availability of cold storage and refrigerated container technology. Table grapes are a labour-intensive agricultural product that require harvesting by hand at peak ripeness. In order to maintain product quality at point of sale, harvested grapes must be sorted, packaged and cooled to near 0 °C as quickly as possible. Transportation in ventilated and temperature controlled environments requires significant investment in processing facilities, shipping and logistics. As the production cycle for table grapes is relatively long compared with other fruit, with new plantations taking 2–3 years to become productive, export production and promotion is often concentrated in the hands of large vertically integrated commercial enterprises or producer-exporter associations such as the Fruit Exporters Association of Chile (ASOEX). [5]
Table grapes commonly sold in North American and European markets include Sultana (Thompson Seedless), Flame, Muscat, Almeria, Niagara and Concord.
In the United States, California remains the largest single producer of table grapes with over 85,000 acres under cultivation. According to the USDA over 70 varietals are grown in the state, but the bulk of shipments are limited to a dozen mainly seedless varieties often sold domestically under generic green, red, or black descriptors. [6]
In Japan, Korea and other East Asian markets, as well as supporting a market for imported grapes commonly produced in Australia and Chile, domestically produced table grapes are often grown and sold as premium gift products.
In Japan, Kyoho, Delaware and Pione grapes rank as the first, second and third most popular table grapes in terms of production volume. [7] In July 2015, setting new pricing records for Japanese premium table grapes, a single bunch of Ruby Roman grapes, containing 26 grapes at a weight of about 700 grams, sold for 1 million yen (around US$8400). [8]
In the Philippines, most table grapes in the country are imported, although grapes can be cultivated in the islands. In the Ilocos region, the red cardinal is the most commonly grown variety. [9]
Colour | Varietals |
---|---|
White-Green grapes | Perlette, Sugraone, Thompson Seedless, Niagara, Calmeria, Italia, Autumn King, Princess, Cotton Candy, Shine Muscat |
Red grapes | Flame Seedless, Swenson Red, Yates, Red Globe, Ruby Seedless, Christmas Rose, Emperor, Rouge, Crimson Seedless, Tudor Premium Red, Scarlet Royal, Cardinal, Koshu, Delaware, Ruby Roman, Vintage Red, Muscato |
Blue-Black grapes | Beauty Seedless, Concord, Thomcord, Muscat Hamburg, Autumn Royal, Fantasy Seedless, Marroo, Niabell, Summer Royal, Kyoho, Pione, St. Theresa |
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus Vitis. Grapes are a non-climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness," combined with its earlier ripening, make Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.
Zante currants, Corinth raisins, Corinthian raisins or outside the United States simply currants, are raisins of the small, sweet, seedless grape cultivar Black Corinth. The name comes from the Anglo-French phrase "raisins de Corinthe" and the Ionian island of Zakynthos (Zante), which was once the major producer and exporter. It is not related to black, red or white currants, which are berries of shrubs in the genus Ribes and not usually prepared in dried form.
Malbec is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are now found primarily in Cahors in South West France, though the grape is grown worldwide. It is also available as an Argentine varietal.
Chile has a long history in the production of wine, with roots dating back to the 16th century when the Spanish conquistadors introduced Vitis vinifera vines to the region. In the mid-19th century, French wine varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenère, and Franc were introduced. During the early 1980s, the Chilean wine industry underwent a renaissance with the introduction of stainless steel fermentation tanks and the use of oak barrels for aging. This led to a rapid growth in exports as quality wine production increased. The number of wineries in Chile rose from 12 in 1995 to over 70 in 2005.
New World wines are those wines produced outside the traditional winegrowing areas of Europe and the Middle East, in particular from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. The phrase connotes a distinction between these "New World" wines and those wines produced in "Old World" countries with a long-established history of wine production, essentially in Europe, most notably: France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal.
Persian lime, also known by other common names such as seedless lime, Bearss lime and Tahiti lime, is a citrus fruit species of hybrid origin, known only in cultivation. The Persian lime is a triploid cross between Key lime and lemon.
The sultana is a "white", oval seedless grape variety also called the sultanina, Thompson Seedless, Lady de Coverly (England), and oval-fruited Kishmish. It is also known as İzmir üzümü in Turkey since this variety has been extensively grown in the region around İzmir. It is assumed to originate from Asia Minor, which later became part of the Ottoman Empire.
Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, as well as the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine in the world, with an area of 702,000 hectares under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 2013–2017 annual average of 48.3 million hl of wine. In 2018 Italy accounted for 19 per cent of global production, ahead of France and Spain. Italian wine is both exported around the world and popular domestically among Italians, who consume an average of 42 litres per capita, ranking fifth in world wine consumption.
Canadian wine is wine produced in Canada. Ontario and British Columbia are the two largest wine-producing provinces in Canada, with two-thirds of Canada's vineyard acreage situated in Ontario. However, wine producing regions are also present in other provinces, including Alberta, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Although viticulture and the cultivation of grapes for table consumption has a long history in Japan, domestic wine production using locally produced grapes only really began with the adoption of Western culture during the Meiji restoration in the second half of the 19th century.
Agriculture in Lebanon is the third most productive sector in the country after the tertiary and industrial sectors. It contributes 3.1% of GDP and 8 percent of the effective labor force. The sector includes an informal Syrian labor and is dependent on foreign labor for its productivity. Main crops include cereals, fruits and vegetables, olives, grapes, and tobacco, along with sheep and goat herding. Mineral resources are limited and are only exploited for domestic consumption. Lebanon, which has a variety of agricultural lands, from the interior plateau of the Beqaa Valley to the narrow valleys leading downward to the sea, enables farmers to grow both European and tropical crops. Tobacco and figs are grown in the south, citrus fruits and bananas along the coast, olives in the north and around the Shouf Mountains, and fruits and vegetables in the Beqaa Valley. More exotic crops include avocados, grown near Byblos, and hashish. Although the country benefits from favorable farming conditions and diverse microclimates, it relies on food imports, which make up 80% of its consumption.
Thomcord is a seedless table grape variety and a hybrid of the popular Thompson Seedless or Sultanina grape and Concord grape. Thomcord was developed in 1983 by Californian grape breeders working for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), as part of a test to better understand a new seedless grape breeding procedure.
Pakistan holds a significant position in the global rice market and is one of the leading rice-producing countries. The rice sector is crucial for the country's economy, providing livelihoods to a substantial portion of the population and contributing substantially to agricultural exports.
Iran ranks 1st in fruit production in the Middle East and North Africa. Iran has been ranked between 8th and 10th in global fruit production in different years. Iran produces Persian walnut, melon, tangerine, citrus fruits, Kiwifruit, dates, cherries, pomegranates, peach, oranges, raisins, saffron, grapes, Apricot, Pitted Prune and watermelon.
Avocado production is important to the economy of Mexico with the country being the world's largest producer of the crop. Mexico supplies 45 percent of the international avocado market. Of the 57 avocado producing countries, the other major producers are Colombia, Peru, Dominican Republic, and Kenya, in that order.
Pione is a large-berried, purple skinned, table and rosé wine grape variety that has been grown in Japan since 1957.
The banana industry is an important part of the global industrial agrobusiness. About 15% of the global banana production goes to export and international trade for consumption in Western countries. They are grown on banana plantations primarily in the Americas.
International Fruit Genetics (IFG) is a private Bakersfield, California-based fruit breeding company that licenses patented breeds of fruit to growers worldwide. The largest breeder of table grapes has licensed one type of this fruit to Bakersfield-based grower Grapery, Cotton Candy.