Cumbum growers seek value-addition in ‘Panneer’ grapes to compete in market

Now, many growers of this wine grape variety are concerned about declining price and only by adding value to grapes, its market could thrive. It’s not just creatively packaging grapes in decorative containers, but the value-addition could come in different ways. ‘Paneer’, which’s our region’s own native variety, is cultivated round the year, but not enough to lift the market, according to M Selvakumar of KK Patti and president, Cumbum Valley Panneer Grape Growers Association.

In the present scenario, price of this variety is going down and it fetches Rs 30 a kilo despite incurring higher expenses. Further, he said the local winery could well procure this ‘Panneer’ grape variety, but procurements were made only when its price dropped during November and December, he said on Sunday.

Pon Katchikannan, grape grower from Surulipatti village of Cumbum block, said the authorities concerned should create significant opportunities with a platform to move their produce to market. “The grape growers produce an abundance of variety here, but there’s no fair market value. While value-added seedless varieties from Maharashtra are made available in the market, the local variety of ‘Panneer’ grapes hardly finds place in the market here,” he said. 

Citing these factors, he demanded the government to fix minimum support price for ‘Panneer’ grapes in the interest of the farmers. Since Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam hails from this district, he should look into this issue to ensure better market for grape growers, Katchikannan said.

Further, he said large quantities of this wine grape variety were being procured by many from neighbouring Kerala, where likeminded people had been involved in making wine at home. Hence, local grape growers could be trained in making homemade wine by authorities, he opined.

According to S Saraswathy, Professor and Head, Grapes Research Station (GRS), Anaimalayanpatty, Theni district, in Tamil Nadu, grapes are cultivated in an area of 2800 ha, of which Theni district alone accounts for 2,184 ha. The predominant variety grown in this area is ‘Muscat Hamburg’ (Panneer) which occupies around 2,000 ha and the remaining by ‘Thompson seedless’, ‘Tas-A-Ganesh’, ‘Sonaka’, ‘Super Sona’, ‘Manik Chaman’, Red Globe, Krishna, Sharad, Anab-e-Shahi and Crimson Seedless.

The climatic conditions prevailing in Tamil Nadu are favourable to reap five harvests in two years or at least two crops in a year for ‘Muscat Hamburg’. Besides, ‘Anab-e-Shahi’ is also cultivated to some extent. Peak seasons of harvest are June-July and January-February.  All grapes produced in Tamil Nadu were mostly used for table purpose, however, the quality was not very good. Though there’s a great demand for grapes both for wine industry and raisin making, the quality of these varieties was not suitable for the industrial uses. 

Since the grape growers in Theni district had been forcing the vines for five crops in two years, the quality of Muscat grapes and berry size were not up to meet the quality standards for exports.  Besides, grapes were vulnerable to disease such as powdery and downy mildew and anthracnose.  Owing to poor soil conditions, nutrient uptake was also affected in certain regions.  Although the productivity of grapes in Theni district is the highest in a year, the income generated was very less due to poor quality.  

Despite great demand for grapes during months of August-November, the off-season for grapes production, the quality of this variety was not suitable due to poor shelf life, low total soluble solids (TSS) and also for long distance transport. Hence, the grape growers need to be more about maintaining the quality, Dr Saraswathy told DT Next.

 When contacted, A Subbiah, Assistant Professor, GRS, said about 60 per cent of ‘Panneer’ grapes caters to the need of wine making. There are nearly 1,000 varieties of wine and red wine is classified into 12 varieties. However, the grape growers here need to be more quality conscious rather than quantity. He said consumers were the ultimate decision-makers and hence the growers should be able to provide quality produce to suit consumers’ choice. They could have an exposure to making ready to serve grape squash and crush. Therefore, the growers should come forward to acquire technical skills in a broader perspective to have desired marker links, the Assistant Professor said.  Reliable sources from the Cumbum Valley Winery, which came into existence since 2009, nestling amidst the foothills of Western Ghats, said it follows traditional wine making process of harvesting the freshest and quality grapes from its own vineyards and local farmers.