How does it make sense that eg grapes from India get imported to Denmark and then get sold here for 2€? How does that economically pay off? For all the different stakeholders involved?
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Grapes are very labor intensive to grow. They’re one of the more labor The cost of shipping is low compared to the cumulative labor cost of growing them. They require careful pruning, and generally need to be picked by hand. Different clusters ripen at different times so need to be picked several different times during harvest. Table grapes also need to be handled carefully. (You don’t care that much if wine grapes are bruised or split.) Denmark also doesn’t have a good climate for growing grapes which like sunny and hot weather and basic, well drained soil. They prefer to grow on hillsides and slopes.
One advantage of grapes is their skins contain tannins, polyphenolic compounds, stilbines, and flavanoids. These cause grapes to be relatively resistant to fungi and bacteria that cause rot. (Also causes them you be bitter and astringent.) This is the case with most fruits, though. They are typically shipped in refrigerated containers. When refrigerated they can stay fresh for up to a month or more. Shipping items by containers is very cheap and is energy efficient.
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