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Grape farming is in for some good times, with the farmers expecting the total production to be around 28-30 lakh tonnes. Last year, the production was about 20 lakh tonnes.
After exports of 1.12 lakh tonne in the last season, farmers are expecting record exports of two lakh tonne this year. According to Jagannath Khapre, president, Maharashtra Grape Growers Association, the total production of grapes is expected to touch 30 lakh tonnes which is 15 to 20% higher as compared to last year.
However, what has got the farmer really excited this year is the demand from the Indian wine industry. Industry players believe that over the last three years the demand for grapes from the wine industry has been growing by 20%.
In 2016, the wine industry will crush over 27,000 MT of grapes. The industry has set itself a target of 100,000 MT in the next seven years. This when at present only 2% of India’s over one lakh hectares of vineyards are planted with wine grapes, while in the rest of the world the figure is over 90%. The wine grape grower gets Rs 2 to 2.5 lakh per acre depending upon the quality of grapes.
Wine grapes in India are harvested during February-April, versus September-October elsewhere in the northern hemisphere (Europe and the US).
“This year, we will crush close to 13,000 tonnes of grapes, up 20% from 2015. Total farmer payments will cross Rs 50 crore. The grapes will come from across Maharashtra at our three wineries here, and from across Karnataka for our Karnataka winery. This year the effects of climate change and global warming are highly apparent with our harvest starting two weeks earlier than ever before” said Rajeev Samant, CEO Sula Wines.
India's largest wine maker, Sula Vineyards, works with over 400 grape growers in Maharashtra and Karnataka with 10-year assured buyback contracts. This year the company is expecting a total payout of Rs 50 crore for farmers. Company officials claim that in 2015, Indians consumed 15.5 lakh cases as compared to 13.5 cases in 2014.
Wine production in India, though still at a nascent stage, is likely to reach 18 million liter this year and 21 million liter by 2018 from 17 million liter estimated last year, according to a study. The year-on-year growth rate has clocked five%, a just concluded study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) said.
Nashik district, in north Maharashtra, is the largest producer of grapes in India, with nearly 1.75 lakh acres under vineyards, while the total acreage in Maharashtra is 2.50 lakh acre. The company expects its premium wine prices to rise by at least 5% this year.
Ajay Shetty, founder and managing director of Bengaluru-based Myra Vineyards that sources around 6,000 tonne of grapes from contract farmers in Nashik and Bijapur (Karnakataka) is planning to double its production in the next three years.
“Shortage of quality grapes is always a concern for us but we do manage to get quality grapes. The demand for wine grapes is growing. We produce around 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh litres of wine every year and planning to double the production in the next three years,” he added.
The last three years were of excellent quality and quantity for grapes but 2016 looks to be much more challenging with lower yields due to unseasonal rains post monsoon and drought-like situation
Ravi Gurnani, director, York Winery is sourcing over 250 MT of wine grapes every year. It has 10 to 12 farmers associated with it on a long term contract basis. The winery produces 2 to 2.5 lakh litres of wine annually.
"The demand for wine is growing every year and more and more farmers are now associating with wine industry due to increasing prices. In the last three to five years prices of wine grapes have increased by 30-35%. Market conditions are not volatile in the last few years. As compared to table grapes, there wine grape market is much more stable."
Grape is grown over four lakh acres in Maharashtra at Nashik, Sangli, Pune and Solapur districts. Last season the crop was affected because of un-seasonal rain and hailstorm.
