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Central Valley grape farmers affected by lower demand for raisins

Posted at 9:51 PM, Feb 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-23 00:56:33-05

The Central Valley used to be the raisin capital of the world, but now grape farmers are struggling as the demand for the dried fruit has dropped.

The Wall Street Journal reported that more than 100,000 acres if grapes have been lost with 10,000 acres being removed in 2017 alone.

Raisins from other countries have flooded the market, driving down the price of the crop, costing farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Farmers are replacing the vines with almonds and pistachios, two of the state’s greatest cash crops.