Around the Fruit World. Day One.

by Tad Thompson

The driest places on Earth can produce the world's best fruits and vegetables.

Generally speaking, when produce quality is the highest, prices to growers are the lowest.

Such axioms in the world of the fresh fruit and vegetable industy are unknown to most consumers, I would guess.

Is such information useless to the masses? Maybe.

Does anyone know what they don't know? Absolutely not.

When watching the History Channel, I never cease to be amazed by the things I don't know. Such as the hurricane blowing into Washington, D.C. right after the British set The White House on fire in The War of 1812. When you hear a story like that, you become pretty committed to leaving "In God We Trust" on the currency.

My life is a little bit richer for knowing that.

Omar, a Chilean grape grower friend of mine, owns acreage in a deep river valley in the Atacama Desert. This valley, pictured above, is in Chile's northern reaches. The Atacama receives one rain storm every couple of years. There is so little rain that the gray, dusty soil will only support cactus plants if they are located about 20 feet apart. Even at that, the poor plants look not much better than they do in my house, where, if it needs water, we don't want 'em.

The beauty of all of this is that when Chile's spring rolls around each September, Andean snow begins to fill dry stream beds and Omar (and his grower-neighbors) suddenly have a pure, easily-accessed and abundant water supply.

The unlikely-looking soil, when fed by this wonderfully-fresh water, produces a terrific grape crop. The weather is so neutral here, there is no wind to bounce and scar the fruit. Nor is there humidity to allow fungus problems. Insects that might become issues generally prefer living where they don't have to wait six months to get a drink.

Thus, Omar makes a pretty good gamble each season that his vineyards will produce a tremendous fruit crop. Being in the north, the Atacama desert experiences Chile's earliest spring and therefore Chile's first grape harvest. The Peruvians and Brazilians are now getting high quality fresh grapes into North American markets in November before Omar, but that's a story for another day. Still, Omar is among the first Chileans to export fresh grapes to North America after the California storage crop is finished. Empty markets make higher prices. It's all about supply and demand. It's wonderfully simple. And is the essence of why Peruvians and Brazilians jumped on a market niche just ahead of Omar.

The story of how Omar's fruit fits into the world scheme is a complex trail. Perhaps I've embarked on a path to tell you about something you didn't know that you didn't know?

As to growers receiving high prices when the quality is lowest...that's true too. The point was designed to catch your attention for now. And will be explained later.

This is my first-go at writing a blog. Your comments, questions and suggestions will be appreciated.

'Til later.

Tad