Desert grapes from California’s Coachella Valley are expected to hit nearly 5 million carton, up substantially from a year.
Still, Coachella grape shipments are a drop in the bucket compared to California’s San Joaquin Valley which consistently ships over 110 million boxes, or even Mexico that loads over 20 million cartons a year.
Anthony Vineyards, headquartered in Bakersfield, but has an operation in Coachella expresses optimism over coming shipments, with green grapes looking especially good.
Silver Canyon Sales handles some sales for Tudor Ranch of Mecca, CA that includes grapes, lemons and dates. The companies see higher yields and quality this season.
Desert Fresh Inc. in Coachella is expecting good movement kicking off the season in early May because a small shipping gap is expected between the end of Chilean import grape season and the beginning of the Arvin (Bakersfield) area crop. Mexican grapes, which are Coachella’s main competition, starting a little later this season.
As usual, Coachella’s peak grape shipments will occur during June. Loading could continue into the first half of July, depending upon when the heat cranks up in the desert. Overall, Coachella shipments tend to last about 8 weeks.
Although Prime Time International in Coachella doesn’t ship grapes, it will be loading and excellent crop of watermelons, as well as vegetables such as green, red and yellow peppers, green beans, and sweet corn.