Peanut Market Update December 2021 Week 48

Like all nut and dried fruit markets at the moment, the US peanut market has had to face various issues at home and abroad. At the moment, US peanut farmers are harvesting the final crops for the year.

They’re doing so to get ahead of the freeze that they have had to experience in recent weeks to ensure that the crops are not wasted. It is estimated that the crop harvested will be around 3,121,000 tonnes, about 1% less than the previous year.

Peanut Market Update from Elsewhere

Peanut planting continues in Argentina. It is said that 90% of the planting is completed with good germination, and the crop is expected to move forward without any foreseen hindrances, covering around 410,000 hectares.

As for Brazil, it is expected to increase its planting capacity by increasing the hectares planted by around 3.6%. Plantation in Brazil is complete by 80%, and similar to Argentina, it has been said that the crop is looking good.

The US Plans for Next Year

Coming back to the United States, even though planning for next year’s crop has begun, there have been no formal contracts out yet. China had been buying peanuts from the US for the past few months, and this has finally subdued.

China has declared that their production for the upcoming year has increased, so they will not be buying as much as they’ve done so this year. Overall, this year’s production was 6.24 billion lbs, down 1% from last year.

While brokers have reported that this is the second consecutive year in which the US has produced a great crop, there isn’t much sign of peanuts exported to the European Union. Farmers have reported that their new safety control tests are worth more trouble than they should be, so there seems to be a lack of interest from both ends.3