Walnuts Market Update April 2022 Week 15

According to market participants, light-coloured walnut kernels with a more significant proportion of halves are now in considerable demand, resulting in firmer pricing for these characteristics, even though the bulk of the US harvest for 2021 had darker kernels. 

Furthermore, shipping delays are causing stockpiles to decline in the European spot market. Meanwhile, the fresh harvest from Chile's comparably high costs deters buyers, resulting in a standstill. It's unclear if buyers or sellers will cave first. 

In March, US walnut exports increased modestly, while domestic shipments remained well behind the previous year. Since the start of the season, around 25% fewer walnuts have been exported locally and internationally. 

Around 228,875 mt of shelled and unshelled walnuts have been shipped from the United States since the start of the season, which is 25% less than the same period last year. Domestic shipments dropped by 8% to 56,759 mt, while exports dropped by nearly a third from 242,000 mt to 172,115 mt. 

However, export volumes climbed by 4% to 28,319 mt in March 2022, while domestic sales plummeted 15% to 7,494 mt. 

As far as the EU is concerned, imports increased in 2021. Against the present trend, EU states imported 103,454 mt of unshelled walnuts from third countries in the previous calendar year, nearly 7% from a year earlier. Almost half of the imported quantity came from the United States, with 50,804 mt.