Overview of world raisin production

Matthew FidelibusViticulture and Enology, UC Davis

Overview

• Global trends in raisin production and consumption

• Producing and exporting countries– Some typical vineyard and production methods

• Import markets• Main raisin importing countries in the EU, and

their suppliers

World raisin production (MT)

World consumption of raisins (MT)950000

1000000

1050000

1100000

1150000

1200000

1250000

2005/20062006/072007/082008/092009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15

World raisin consumption (MT)

World consumption of raisins (MT)900000

950000

1000000

1050000

1100000

1150000

1200000

1250000

2005/20062006/072007/082008/092009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15

Metric tons of raisins produced & exported by primary producers

United St

ates

Turke

yChina

Iran

IndiaChile

South Afric

a

Afghan

istan

Argentina

Uzbekista

n

Australia

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

Production (MT)Exports (MT)

Data are from FAS/USDA, 2014, except India; Gade et al., 2014

Typical raisin production methods in Turkey, USA, & Argentina

Turkey

• Grapes are harvested by hand into perforated buckets

• Buckets are shipped to a drying yard where they are dipped in drying emulsion

• Dipped grapes are spread by hand onto tarpaulins to dry

• Raisins are light colored, similar to “Sultanas”

Photo courtesy of S.K. Kurtural, CSU Fresno

Grapes hand-harvested into perforated buckets, Turkey

Photo courtesy of S.K. Kurtural, CSU Fresno

Grapes dipped in drying emulsion, Turkey

Photo courtesy of S.K. Kurtural, CSU Fresno

Dipped grapes spread on tarpaulins to dry, Turkey

Photo courtesy of S.K. Kurtural, CSU Fresno

Raisin drying yard in Turkey

Turkish raisins

USA

• Traditional tray drying, mechanized tray drying (“continuous tray”), and dry-on-vine (DOV) production methods

• Grapes are dried in vineyards, either on trays, or on the vine

• Drying emulsions are generally not used• Raisins are dark-colored “naturals”

US raisin production methods becoming increasingly mechanized

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%19

97

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Tot

al R

aisi

n Pr

oduc

tion

Traditional

Cont Tray

DOV

Argentina• Flame Seedless, Fiesta, Thompson Seedless, &

Arizul grapes on “pergola” style trellises• Grapes are hand harvested into wooden boxes

for transport• Drying on netting and cobblestone-covered

drying yards allow precipitation to drain• Early, mid, & late season varieties maximize

use of drying yards• No drying emulsion; dark-colored raisins

Metric tons of raisins imported

Data are from FAS/USDA, 2014

European

Union

Australia

Canad

aJap

anRussi

aBraz

il

United Arab

Emira

tes Iraq

China

Mexico

Ukraine

Kazakh

stan

United St

ates

India

Algeria

Malaysi

a

New Ze

aland

Taiwan

ColombiaPeru

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

400000

United Kingdom Germany

Netherlands Other

In 2008, >60% of EU Raisin Imports went to UK, Germany, or the

Netherlands

Turkey supplies most of the EU raisin market

2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/140

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

OtherIranUnited StatesTurkey

Conclusions• Global raisin production & consumption at record

highs• USA & Turkey currently dominate global raisin

production• Turkey is world’s leading exporter of raisins, & the EU

is by far the leading raisin import market.• India and China are major producers, but not yet

major exporters• There is increasing world-wide interest in

mechanizing raisin production

• California Raisin Marketing Board• S. Kaan Kurtural, PhD, CSU Fresno•

Acknowledgements