Searching for regional grapes

Vineyards are a typical landscape feature of many regions in Switzerland and Southern Germany. So why would these countries need to import grapes? Appearances can be deceiving. Updated on 27 June 2023

"Why should I buy Greek grapes from you when I can buy Swiss grapes?" We're asked questions like this all the time.

It's an understandable question. Anyone can see that there are many vineyards on the hills and mountains across Switzerland and Southern Germany.

Figures from the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture support the notion that these regions produce a high volume of grapes: Swiss family farmers grew grapes on roughly 14'700 hectares throughout the country in 2020. The area under cultivation dedicated to grapes in Germany is even larger at more than 100'000 hectares.

Area under cultivation for Swiss table grapes is no longer reported

As impressive as these figures may be, they are nonetheless very misleading. That's because the grapes in these vineyards are grown for one purpose only, which is winemaking.

In fact, so few table grapes are grown in Switzerland that there are no precise figures at all, according to Herbert Zufferey of the Swiss Fruit Growers' Association (Schweizer Obstverband, SOV). Zufferey can only guess at the volume of table grapes produced in Switzerland. He believes that the figure could be around 200 tonnes per year.

But that's not entirely accurate. The Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) provided annual statistics on the area under cultivation for table grapes until 2019. But they've stopped doing so since 2020. FOAG switched to a new statistical method last year and is now publishing the figures in a report titled Area statistics for fruit growing in Switzerland. Table grapes were not included in the latest reports, presumably because the area under cultivation is too small.

According to FOAG, the area under cultivation in 2019 was around 17 hectares, almost 2 less than in the previous year. There are 5'000 vines on average per hectare, each producing around 2.5 kilos of grapes per season. Based on this, Zufferey's estimated annual yield of 200 tonnes in Switzerland is fairly accurate. At least for 2019.

99 percent of the grapes for sale in Switzerland are imported

But while the potential annual yield is around 200 tonnes, the actual consumption of table grapes in Switzerland is around 40'000 tonnes per year. This of course means that 99 per cent of the fruit is sourced from other countries, mainly from Italy and Greece. The same is true for Germany. The country imported around 317'000 tonnes of table grapes in 2019.

But why? The production costs are too high. It's simply not worth it for Swiss farmers to grow table grapes, says Zufferey.

What's more, some varieties can be very finicky when it comes to climate. Even so, there are other varieties that thrive in our climes. But the vines feel most at home in temperate zones such as the Mediterranean.

Good yields expected for 2023 in Greece

That's precisely where our table grapes come from. Kollias and his family grow organic grapes of the Soultanina variety on the Greek peninsula of Peloponnese. We receive fruit from them for the sixth time in 2023.

So far, the current season is going better than the last two. While the vines, which are around 30 years old, had to endure a lot of stress in the past two years – heat and drought – they are doing much better this year. "It has rained a lot so far and the weather conditions are pretty good," says Giannis Kollias.

During the heat waves in 2021 and 2022, the farmer lost between 50 and 80 per cent of his harvest. But he is in good spirits for this year and expects up to 13 tonnes. Provided July and August don't throw a spanner in the works.

Conventional production no longer worthwhile

Organic table grapes are still a challenge to grow, even in reasonable temperatures. Kollias goes through his fields often, inspecting the individual grapes and removing any that are affected by pests or disease. In some cases, he is able to treat the vines with special bacteria that protect the fruits.

It would be easier for Kollias and his family to use pesticides and fertilisers. But he knows that he would harm the environment and also endanger his own health and that of the people who ultimately eat the grapes.

Besides, he would get a much lower price for conventionally grown grapes and would probably end up like his neighbour, who has now abandoned his fields. It was no longer worthwhile for him to grow grapes. Just like in Switzerland and Germany.

Sources

Database of the Swiss Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG): Swiss-Impex

Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG): Fruit and table grape growing in Switzerland 2019 (accessed on 15 July 2020)

Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG): Area statistics for fruit growing in Switzerland 2020 (accessed on 5 August 2021)

Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture: 2019 vintage report (accessed on 15 July 2020)

Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture: 2020 vintage report (accessed on 5 August 2021)

Database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: FAOSTAT

Database of the Federal Statistical Office of Germany: GENESIS-Online