GREENSBORO, N.C. — Good old North Carolina Muscadine grapes. You can get them at Food Lion for about $3.49 cents for a 20-ounce bag. That’s 17 cents an ounce. This is why I’m about to blow your mind with the price being charged for them in other places.
An Instagram post from GotToBeNC, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture shows a box of Muscadine grapes, each one with its own special spot in the box. The cost? $55 in China. The post says that’s almost $1.37 a grape!
How did that happen?
“NC agriculture is a $100 billion industry,” said Sandy Stewart, Asst. NC Agriculture Commissioner.
Part of the reason why is because the NC Department of Agriculture actively looks for products made here that can be bought worldwide and they help the farmers or local companies figure out how to get on that stage. It all starts with those food shows.
“From the dept of agriculture standpoint, we don't have the products to sell, but what we try to do is facilitate those business-to-business interactions on the front end by making the connection, and once they strike a deal, we have specialists that can help with the export requirements,” said Stewart.
The Instagram post with the Muscadines refers to the latest food show, where NC AG folks show off NC items. The show, Fruit Logistica is considered the largest food show in the world. NC Ag folks are there every year.
“You have sweet potatoes and peanuts, cotton, Texas Pete is all over the globe, literally. We've had a gelato maker from Carteret County export their gelato to some of the Nordic countries. It really is a global market and we're trying to help NC farmers and businesses participate in that global market,” said Stewart.