As the final days of April approach, the last shipments of South American table grapes will hit the U.S. For grower-shipper, Divine Flavor, that means the company will shift its attention from Chile to its principal growing regions of Jalisco and Sonora, Mexico.
April through May has emerged in recent years as a pivotal window for Divine Flavor, according to the company. The Jalisco operation kicks off right as the Chilean season concludes. The company says a consistent supply of fresh varieties of its proprietary green seedless grapes — including Autumncrisp, Cotton Candy, and Sweet Globe — allows Divine Flavor a seamless transition for its North American retail partners.
“Grapes from Jalisco, Mexico give us more flexibility as we finish the South American import deal and before transitioning to the bulk of Mexico’s traditional grape season in Sonora,” Alán Aguirre Jr., chief marketing officer for Divine Flavor, said in a news release. “In Chile, we have tremendous alliances there, and one grower in particular, Santa Elena, who helped us on starting our South American relations, finished their season with great quality Autumncrisp. For us, we tend to be very cautious with only bringing in the best premium varieties which of course highly compliment our Jalisco program in Mexico.”
The company said red seedless historically exceeded green seedless demand. That has shifted to a point where, in most cases, the demand for green grapes is double that of reds. The company credits the popularity of its proprietary seedless green varieties for some of that demand shift.
Earlier in April, the Mexico Table Grapes Association held its annual grape summit. During the event, the committee announced production estimates around 23 million boxes for 2025, up about 1.3% from 2024. Potential delays in early-season varieties at the start of the season were projected at the event as well.
“For the early varieties, the Sonoran grape season will see some delays on reds and a smaller crop of Flames than from previous years,” said Aguirre. “However, once we approach the mid-season part of the harvest, reds will bounce back with better volume, and we’ll have plenty to promote in June. From 2024 to 2025, we are expected to have around an 18% increase from our Sonora program, especially on proprietary varieties.”
The company said it expects to finish its last grape shipments from Chile around the end of April with inventories going into the first weeks of May. The Jalisco grape program is currently midway through its harvest and will go until the end of May. The company will start its Sonoran grape program with the first organic grapes from Mexico around the middle of May which will go into the end of July.