As of 1879, Greece had been exporting large quantities of currants to France, due to the fact that the French vineyards had been blighted by phylloxera. Demand, with a view to producing currant wine, was enormous. About a decade later, however, French production was restored, resulting in the 1893 Greek currant crisis which not only drove many to economic disaster but also led to an explosive social situation: especially in western Greece and the Peloponnese, there were large waves of emigration to the United States. In 1908, a new crisis, brought about by over-production, would erupt with must prices slumping and conflicts breaking out between wine grape and currant producers.