Table grape

Pione table grapes prior to harvesting

Table grapes are grapes intended for consumption as fresh fruit, as opposed to those grown for wine production, juice production, jelly and jam making, or for drying into raisins.

Vitis vinifera table grapes can be either seeded or seedless and range widely in colour, size, sweetness, and adaptability to local growing conditions.

Common commercially available table grape varieties such as Thompson Seedless and Flame Seedless are favoured by growers for their high yield and relative resistance to damage during shipment. Other less common varietals such as Cotton Candy, Kyoho, or Pione are custom hybrids bred for size, appearance, and distinctive flavour characteristics.

== Market characteristics == Chile, Peru, the United States, China, Turkey, Spain, South Africa, and Australia are all major producers and exporters of table grapes. World table grape production in 2016 is estimated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be around 21.0 million metric tons per annum, with China alone accounting for an estimated 9.7 million metric tons of that global total. Chile remains the world's single largest table grape exporter, shipping over 800,000 metric tons primarily to North American and European markets. In contrast, China exports only about 247,000 metric tons per annum, mainly to Southeast Asian markets.

The global trade in table grapes has grown strongly since the 1950s. Since the turn of the century, export growth has primarily come from the Southern Hemisphere and developing economies such as Chile, India, Peru, and Turkey.

The international trade in table grapes has significantly benefited from the increased availability of cold storage and refrigerated container technology. Table grapes are a labour-intensive product that require hand-harvesting at peak ripeness. To maintain quality at the point of sale, harvested grapes must be sorted, packaged, and cooled to near 0 °C as quickly as possible. Transportation in ventilated and temperature-controlled environments requires significant investments in processing facilities, shipping, and logistics. Because the production cycle for table grapes is relatively long compared with other fruits—with new plantations taking 2–3 years to become productive—export production and promotion are often concentrated in the hands of large, vertically integrated commercial enterprises or producer-exporter associations such as the Fruit Exporters Association of Chile (ASOEX).

=== North America and Europe === Table grapes commonly sold in North American and European markets include Sultana (Thompson Seedless), Flame Seedless, Muscat, Almeria, Niagara, and Concord. In the United States, California remains the largest single producer of table grapes, with over 85,000 acres under cultivation. According to the USDA, more than 70 varietals are grown in the state, but the bulk of shipments consist of about a dozen mainly seedless varieties, often sold domestically under generic green, red, or black descriptors.

=== Japan, Korea and East Asia === In Japan, Korea, and other East Asian markets, domestically produced table grapes are often grown and sold as premium gift products, supplementing imported grapes commonly produced in Australia and Chile. In Japan, popular varieties include Kyoho, Delaware, and Pione, which rank as the first, second, and third most popular table grapes by production volume. In July 2015, a single bunch of Ruby Roman grapes—comprising 26 grapes with a total weight of about 700 grams—sold for 1 million yen (approximately US$8,400), setting new pricing records for Japanese premium table grapes.

In the Philippines, most table grapes are imported, although grapes can be cultivated locally. In the Ilocos region, the red cardinal is the most commonly grown variety.

== Varietals ==

Main article: List of grape varieties

=== Gallery ===

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  Kyoho grapes

See also

Table apple

== References ==

Authority control databases: National	Germany United States France BnF data Israel