Raisin’ a Record Crop
Coachella and San Joaquin valley growers raised a record table grape crop last season. It totaled 64 million 23-pound boxes, worth $859 million, according to the California Table Grape Commission.
Exports helped buoy the industry, and China is viewed as a key growth market, the trade group said. But growers complained that grapes from Mexico, which doubled to about 8 million boxes, created a great deal of competition.
This year’s crop is expected to slump to 60 million boxes because of weather and sales of grapes to wineries and juice producers.
Martha Groves can be reached by fax at (213) 237-7837 or by e-mail at martha.groves@latimes.com
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