Grape season pivoting from seeded to seedless in Kavala, Greece

With the last few seeded Victoria grapes and the first few seedless ones from patented varieties, Kavala—the latest grape-growing region in Greece—is currently on the market. “These days we’re working at a relaxed pace. Personally, I’ve run out of my own Victoria stocks, and since August 24, I’ve started with the first Arra 15 grapes from my own cultivation. I haven’t yet moved on to supplies from other growers. In general, however, some colleagues still have a few Victoria grapes available,” notes Mr. Giorgos Katsagkiotis, owner of G. Katsagkiotis SA.

“The season for Victoria grapes began with high prices from the packing houses to the growers. For the covered grapes, we were paying 1.00 per vine and sending them in 4–5 different packaging formats to Germany. Toward the end of their season, however, many grapes entered the market that were packed and exported directly from the field, without any control or measures to protect quality. This drove down prices for all of us,” the Greek exporter points out.

As he adds, the way trade has gone so far has no impact on what comes next, since the late varieties that are entering production target completely different markets: “The prices that were given for Victoria grapes mean nothing for the prices of the seedless varieties. They go to completely different markets. Seeded grapes are sent to Eastern Europe. Seedless grapes go to Germany and the United Kingdom. However, there are markets such as the Czech and Polish that are shifting to seedless grapes.”

“It’s from September 20 that it will show how things develop in these markets, when the residents of these countries will have fully returned from their holidays. In any case, we in Kavala will be ready to offer large quantities of seedless new varieties from September 10. Our company grows Arra 15, 19, 32, Sweet Globe, Sugar Crisp, Jack’s Salute, and Sweet Celebration,” says Mr. Katsagkiotis.

“We’ll do everything we can to keep prices from falling because that’s how we protect the quality of the product. We work with 8–9 different packaging formats. Without that, you can’t stand alongside the Italians and the Spaniards—even in the complementary role that Greek grapes play in the supply programs of German and British buyers.”

For more information:
Giorgos Katsagkiotis
G. Katsagkiotis SA
Tel: +30 25940 92009, 25940 92647
Email: katsagiotis@yahoo.gr