Grapes
The grape is mainly known as an ingredient for wine: 71 percent of the grape harvest is used for wine production. The other part is consumed as juice, grape sugar (dextrose), raisins, wine vinegar and of course fresh grapes. Grapes are mainly grown on large scale vineyards, but also on small farms.Did you know…
- Grapes have existed for 130 million years and probably grew first around the Caspian Sea.
- A staggering 75,866 m² of the surface of the earth is covered with grape plantations.
Most important export countries
- Chile
- Italy
- United States of America
- South Africa
- Spain
Most important production countries
- Italy
- France
- Spain
- United States of America
- China
Production chain
A grape farmer is not only busy during harvest season, but works intensively the entire year since the grape is a very labour intensive fruit and requires care and attention all year round. During harvest time many seasonal workers are hired to work on a temporary basis. A number of these grape farms also make wine. Grapes may be processed on the farm or transported to a processing plant. The production and processing of grapes in the production countries is mostly done by local or national companies. Grapes are cooled when transported by truck, boat or airplane to the consuming countries.
Problems
Many workers in the grape sector do not receive any fixed contracts, but are only hired seasonally, this creates income insecurity. Salaries in such cases are often very low. Farmers can struggle with the lack of available loans needed to start a business in this sector. Restricted access to international markets does not help the industry either. Regions such as the EU impose significant entry prices for grapes, adding to the complexity for producing countries of exporting. In the cultivation phase, the use of pesticides and chemicals on grapevines can be hazardous to the worker’s health as well as to the environment. Health and safety regulations are often poorly monitored during the use of agricultural chemicals. Child labour is also known to occur in this sector.
Major Chain Issues
In the grape sector, Fairfood International has identified the following major chain issues:
| Major chain | Production stage |
 Discrimination |
Production & Processing |
 Unhealthy and Unsafe Working Conditions |
Production & Processing |
 Insufficient Income and Income Insecurity |
Production & Processing |
 Harmful Agricultural or Aquafarming Practices |
Production |
 Child Labour |
Production & Processing |
 Lack of Access to Financial Services |
Outside the chain |
Solutions
The guide below shows certification schemes whose standards indicate a match with some or all of Fairfood’s researched major issues for this commodity. To learn more about the schemes, click on their logo.
 Fairtrade |
 Global Gap |
 EU Organic Labels |
 Rainforest Alliance |
| Entire chain |
Production |
Production |
Production |
In addition to making use of standards and certification schemes, major issues in this commodity could also be addressed in a customised manner. The box below outlines a few examples of initiatives that deal with sustainability issues in this particular sector. Companies could join some of the platforms or roundtables mentioned below. These could serve as a stepping stone to increased sustainability. Other initiatives, in the form of corporate programmes and chain partnerships, could serve as inspiration for replication by other companies within the sector. To learn more about any of the initiatives, click on their logo.
Corporate program |
The Nature & More (N&M) initiative was established in December 2004 by international organic fruit distributor Eosta as a communication tool and additional quality assurance mechanism for organic fruit and vegetables. N&M aims to provide information on the social and environmental contribution individual organic farmers are making. A trace and tell system is used to make farmer and product information accessible for consumers thus continuously increasing transparency. Priority issue is addressed and verified by this initiative. |
Chain partnership |
The Wine and Agricultural Industry Ethical Trade Association (WIETA) was formally established in 2002 and it is the product of a pilot project for an ethical trade initiative in the wine industry. WIETA’s mission is to improve the working conditions of employees in the South African wine and agriculture industry. To accomplish this objective, WIETA uses codes for best practice in conjunction with verification systems. Additionally, they provide training and workshops explaining the content as well as the necessity of these codes. Priority issues are addressed and verified by this initiative. |
