In this guide 6 sections
GrapeNet is the APEDA traceability system for grape exports. It links a registered farm, its residue test results and each pallet and container lot. A packhouse has to record the farm, harvest, lab report, packing lot and pallet for every box. A lot register can supply those entries.
What GrapeNet traces and who feeds it
GrapeNet is the online system run by APEDA to trace grapes sold abroad. It follows fruit from a registered vineyard, through the packhouse, to the container. A buyer in Europe can ask where a pallet came from, and the record has to answer.
Several people write to it. The grower registers the plot. The exporter links farms to a season. The packhouse ties harvested fruit to packing lots and pallets. The checks that decide whether a lot may ship sit on top of all this.
Rules and screens change between seasons. Confirm current requirements with APEDA and your exporter before the crop arrives.
Farm and residue records that come before any packing
A box cannot be traced to a farm that is not on file. So the first records belong to the vineyard: registration number, plot and area, grower name, variety and the pruning and spray diary. Packhouses near Nashik and Sangli often work with many small growers, so the farm list is long.
Residue testing follows. A sample from the plot goes to an approved lab, and the report comes back with a date and a verdict. The packhouse must hold that report against the farm before it accepts fruit for export.
A farm without a valid report is a farm whose grapes go to the domestic market, or to a buyer who does not ask for the paperwork. Check the date on the report every time.
- Farm registration number, plot and grower
- Variety, planting year and expected harvest window
- Spray diary with product, date and pre-harvest interval
- Residue test report number, lab and date
- Permission status for the destination market
Receiving, grading and packing lot entries
At the gate, each load gets a receipt that names the farm, the picker group and the time of harvest. Weighing, sorting and trimming follow. Bunches that fail on size, colour or berry condition are logged as rejects.
Packing is where traceability usually breaks. Fruit from two farms is packed into one carton because the line was busy. The label shows one farm and the second vanishes. A lot register stops this by issuing a packing lot number that holds the farm list.
Every carton label then carries the lot. A scan on the line links the carton to its farm, its lab report and its pack date.
- Receipt number, farm, vehicle and arrival time
- Gross, net and reject weight after grading
- Packing lot number with the farm or farms behind it
- Carton count, pack size and label batch
- Pre-cooling start and finish time
Pallets, containers and the export file
Cartons go onto pallets, and pallets into a reefer container. Record the pallet number against the lots it carries, then the container number, seal number and loading time against the pallets.
This chain is what the export entry reads. If your register holds it as linked records, the details can be exported and uploaded, or entered once with no retyping. If it is spread across notebooks, someone retypes each pallet at midnight before the vessel cut-off.
Keep the phytosanitary certificate number, the shipping bill reference and the lab report together. A buyer’s complaint can then be traced in minutes.
Setting up a lot register before the season starts
Build the farm master first. Load every grower’s registration, plot and report validity. Mark which farms are cleared for which market, so the gate stops fruit that should not enter the export line.
Next, print lot labels from the register rather than by hand. A label made at the packing table, from a screen, cannot carry a farm that was never received.
Run one dry day with a small lot. Trace a carton back to its farm, its lab report and its picker group before the first real load arrives, and fix whatever the trace cannot reach.
Packhouse lot trace sheet
Printed on a single page, the sheet has four blocks. The farm block holds registration number, plot, grower and residue report. The receiving block holds receipt number, weight and rejects. The packing block holds lot number, carton count and pack date. The dispatch block holds pallet number, container number, seal and certificate references.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Is GrapeNet only for large exporters?
No. It applies to grapes going to the markets that require it, whatever the size of the exporter. Smaller packhouses usually work through an exporter who handles the registration and the filing.
Who is responsible when a farm’s residue report has expired?
The packhouse should not accept that fruit for the export line. A farm master with report validity dates can warn the gate before the load is weighed, which is cheaper than a rejection later.
Can two farms be packed into one carton?
Only if the lot record names both and the labels follow the rules your buyer and exporter accept. Mixed cartons with a single farm on the label are the common cause of broken traceability.
Can a lot register upload directly to GrapeNet?
It can prepare the entries in the format you need, and some setups use APEDA’s supported upload routes. Ask your exporter which method is allowed this season before building anything.