In this edition, we are delighted to report on Grapa’s attendance at the 2020 Fruit Logistica Exhibition which took place in Berlin last week and bring news from around the ARRA world with updates from Israel, Greece and South Africa.
In advance of the Fruit Logistica exhibition, the ARRA grapes to be displayed were shipped in from as far away as Brazil, Chile, Peru, South Africa and California. The Grapa team were to see eager how the grapes fared after the long journey and they were not disappointed; the grapes arrived in very good condition, looking fresh and clean.
Fruit Logistica is the first major event of the Grapa calendar and after last week’s exhibition, it appears that 2020 has got off to a great start. Although the number of participants was noticeably lower this year, possibly as a result of the current Coronavirus outbreak, there was a continuous flow of international visitors to the Grapa stand and the Grapa team were thrilled to meet up with friends, colleagues and of course, to introduce the ARRA varieties to new, interested parties.
Visitors delighted in the chance to see the grapes and taste the array of ARRA varieties and selections displayed.
It is our pleasure to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all the visitors, colleagues and friends who took the time to come and see us at the Grapa stand. We hope to see you all again this summer, in Bakersfield
In January, an international team of Jupiter Group and Grapa agronomists and technical advisors travelled to Greece to present a day-long seminar to the ARRA growers in Kavala, one of the three main table grape-producing regions in Greece. Jupiter Group is the exclusive master licence holder for ARRA™ varieties in Greece.
The team, made up of Jupiter’s procurement manager, Dimitris Theodorou (Greece), Jupiter grape agronomist, Andre Vermaak (Namibia), AVI agronomist, Maurizio Simone (Italy) and ARRA agronomist, Uzi Yaron (Israel), presented the protocols for each of the ARRA varieties cultivated in Greece and addressed various technical matters specific to ARRA production in the Kavala region.
With more than fifty ARRA growers in attendance, the seminar provided the ideal opportunity for the growers to discuss in person with the ARRA experts, their experiences with ARRA production on their farms and to receive professional advice specific to their individual issues. At the end of the seminar, there was a presentation by Kelpak, a company producing liquid seaweed concentrate.
In January, Gilad Sadan, managing director of N.A.V.I. Co. Global Australia, a fresh produce marketing agency specializing in packaging, made a return visit to our offices to deliver a presentation to the Grapa team on the latest trends of fresh produce packaging for 2020.
Gilad explained that the word on everyone’s lips is sustainability, with increasing consumer demand for eco-friendly packing material, meaning less use of plastic and more use of recyclable materials. Retailers, therefore, are under growing pressure to lower their environmental impact and are responding by producing green solutions for packaging.
In our last newsletter edition (#283), we featured the recent ARRA Sweeties™ harvest at Lac du Soleil farm in the Western Cape, South Africa. This week, we are delighted to update you on the successful arrival of the harvest to Holland. As can be seen from the photos below, the grapes arrived in excellent condition; fresh, crisp and clean and the customers were very happy with these first arrivals.
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This variety has large, elongated, intense cherry-coloured berries. With excellent sugar-acid balance, cherry flavour and sensational crunch, ARD 36 CHERRY CRUSH™ is a variety that delights in appearance, taste and eating experience. Proven to be fully rain resistant, the variety also has excellent fertility and exceptional storage ability. It is the ultimate long shipping variety with the best shelf life in the industry. CHERRY CRUSH™ has it all!
Discover the ultimate red variety with ARD 35 – FIRE CRUNCH™. This early-mid variety boasts a unique fire-red colour and crunchy, large berries with a low acid level and well-balanced taste that provide a supreme eating quality. It’s a fertile and easy-to-grow variety with full uniform colour that stays red on the vine, and doesn’t get dark over time, making harvest timing very flexible. This variety also withstands rain and offers unparalleled hanging ability, cold storage capability and shelf-life capacity.
This early red seedless variety offers an exceptional eating quality. It has large, crunchy berries, a medium sized bunch and boasts an excellent natural, full, deep red colour. Although it ripens at the same time as Flame, ARRA Passion Fire surpasses its early counterpart in all other parameters. Good productivity, extraordinary hanging ability, shipping durability and shelf life make it a choice early red.
This very early red variety with its large, sweet berries, ripens naturally 10 days before Flame. The striking full red colour, together with extreme crunch and harmonious flavour make this red a must-have variety. Fire Kiss has proven to be very fertile and grower friendly, as well as bearing great post-harvest and shipping qualities.