Almonds Market Update July 2022 Week 28

This week, we received vital information from the United States and Australian almond markets. Here's what you need to know from both fronts.

United States

It has been estimated that the crop harvest for the year 2022 will be around 2.6 billion pounds, about 11% lower than last year's 2.9 billion pounds. The estimate is down by 7%. Back in May, it was projected to be around 2.8 billion pounds. Some growers were affected by the frost that occurred in spring, while most of the almond industry, especially the farmers in California, have been facing water and continued logistical issues throughout the year.

It has been forecasted that there will be an average of 4,082 nuts set per tree, about 12% less than in 2021. The Nonpareil average is 3,966 per tree, also down by 12% compared to last year.

Kernels in the north valley will be much larger due to the frost this spring. With the smaller than expected yield, it is expected the new crop pricing will increase between 5 to 10 cents per pound.

In the past month, prices softened since growers and packers wanted to sell and reduce their inventory in time for the harvest in August.

Australia

From Australia, we hear news of unexpected harvest delays. Although everything was coming along normally, rains and logistical issues have kept growers quite busy this year. The rain has also affected quality and drying. While initial production for almond kernels was 145,000 MT, this year's crop is closer to 138,650 MT.

Australia's almond export only reached 7,806 MT in May, which is down by 20% compared to May 2021. In fact, exports were far better in March and April. It has been noted that exports have declined by 5% to 15,816 MT this season. Shipments to China have increased by 8%, and shipments to Spain, the Netherlands and New Zealand have also risen. On the other hand, exports to India and Germany have decreased.