Walnuts Update September 2021 (UPDATED)

The walnut market has entered a new phase of operation. This phase is the harvesting phase. Producers all across the globe have now begun to harvest walnuts. This update is designed to ensure that you may understand the process in various countries.

Ukraine

Harvesting has begun in Ukraine, and so far, the predicted volume is not too large. While this isn’t necessarily a problem, it will be when the nuts have to be dried. Harvesters cannot be expected to look out for crops reaching optimal conditions for harvest later in the season as they will be busy drying the nuts.

This season, there has been a lot of precipitation in different regions of Ukraine. Nevertheless, there is also a positive moment - the wholesale prices for in-shell walnuts and walnut kernels are still significantly higher than a year earlier. On average, a producer can get 30-33% more for a high-quality walnut kernel than at the same time last year and almost 70% more than in 2019 at the very beginning of the season.

USA

At the start of the new crop, the market has been extremely active. As the Chinese traditional festival Mid-Autumn festival begins, the domestic market requirement in China is increasing. This can be easily taken care of by the United States crop. 

Both requirements from domestic and overseas markets lead to factories rushing to the origin to purchase raw materials in big quantities, and the price of raw material increases accordingly. Last Thursday, the price increased twice in one day. Now the price is still on an increasing trend. Walnut prices are not expected to fall in the short term as supply is less than demand.

It is hoped that the US Chandler walnut factor will not harm the market this year. Weather conditions in California this year have been very unfavorable, and the harvest, according to all estimates, could be significantly lower than last year.

China

Due to the issues faced by the Chilean walnut industry, China has opened up to the world as a very dependable walnut producer. The biggest motivator for many buyers has been not just the abundant supply that China has been able to provide at such short notice but also the comparative advantage.

Apart from that, China has the labor force to deal with every clients’ demand. All kernels are hand-cracked with fewer defects on the kernels’ surface. They can make it into 100% halves before packing as well, and this, combined with the lower cost, has gotten everyone’s attention.

In recent years, Chinese walnuts weren’t considered on par with Chilean ones, but China is proving this assessment to be extremely incorrect.