No Labor Shortages Yet in Raisin Vineyards
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| Sun-dried grapes will soon be raisins. |
By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor
According to Glen Goto, Chief
Executive Officer for the Fresno-based Raisin Bargaining Association, there has
been no reported labor shortage in raisin vineyards so far this season.
“The season started earlier, which
may have spread the labor out, or growers are using less labor to harvest their
vineyards, which means the labor will be working for more hours in those
vineyards,” Goto said.
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| Tray counts are often noted on the end posts. |
So far this season’s cost per tray
is 30 cents, which is where it ended up at the end of last season. “We are
seeing a little price inflation, which means growers are paying more per tray,”
said Goto.
Goto noted that after Sept. 1, the
harvest will be going strong, and that’s when labor shortages may start to be
noticed.
Hand harvested raisins must be on
the trays by Sept. 20 to qualify for raisin rain insurance. For machine-harvested
raisins, they must be on the continuous tray by Sept. 25.
The raisin-type variety grape
forecast is 2.40 million tons, up 25.5 percent from the 2012 final production.
Based on the objective measurement survey, bunches per vine totaled a record
47.7 compared to 29.1 in 2012. This could be a record harvest year.
Labels: 2013 Raisin harvest, Glen Goto, Labor, Raisin Bargaining Association 30 cents tray price. Record Raisin Crop, Raisin Vineyards
