What the Almond Industry Is Doing about Shipping and Other Crisis

Even though global demand and supply was met, it has been a bad year for the almond industry- particularly for the top almond producer in the world: the United States. For one thing, this year has made it incredibly obvious that the United States cannot continue dominating the almond crop production due to several climatic factors.

These may or may not be out of the US’s control, and only time will tell what is happening. However, it has become abundantly clear that the United States needs to rethink its water management or it will have to bid farewell to the almond trade.

This will, of course, lead to a bit of a crisis globally as the US has been able to supply almost a billion tonnes of almonds every year. Other producers just can’t compete. So, what is to be done about this? 

Unfortunately, that isn’t the only issue being faced by the almond industry in 2021.

Shipping Crisis And Its Impact

The global container crisis has escalated transportation costs which has been quite worrisome for the almond industry which has already received bad news from the United States alone. However, experts think that this is a temporary issue which- though will continue until 2022- will resolve on its own once the global economy starts working at full capacity again.

Even though most countries have opened their borders and started trade, the effects of COVID-19 are still impacting how business is done. With governments across the globe doing their best to convince every citizen to vaccinate, some governments even taking radical approaches where people aren’t allowed at work without vaccines, there is still quite a long way before things go back to normal.

After all, it is important to remember that the lockdowns had been in place for over three months, the impact of these lockdowns (and the successive sanctions that followed) have been massive and cannot be undone in a few weeks.

The world faces a container crisis which shipping companies are doing their best to resolve but this is taking time- and money. It will be resolved soon but it will take some time.

Environmental Issues And Its Impact

However, the second biggest issue faced by the almond industry will take an even longer time to resolve, if it is possible for it to be resolved. After all, while all of us are well aware of the effects of climate change, there is little that can be done about it.

For one thing, it is quite clear that climate change is the reason behind California’s droughts but is there really anything that can be done? While there have been calls for better water management, it has become a matter of continued farming versus civilian water use. While experts have come up with various solutions for California’s problems, it is unlikely that the politics involved will allow a solution.

After all, many political institutions have already spoken out against crops such as almonds which require a lot of water. Instead, calls have been made for the production of more “region appropriate” crops which will require less water.

What Does This Mean?

The International Nurt & Dried Fruit Committee has taken note of what is happening in California as well as its impact on the global almond market. While there have been talks of the environmental impact and what can be done to tackle it, there has been a general consensus that the current state of the industry is simply not functionable any longer. Very low almond prices and grower returns over the past year are impacting growers in all regions of the world and are not sustainable. 

This will greatly impact future growth of acreage and supply without correction in the coming year. Ever-changing and more restrictive regulatory requirements continue to negatively challenge/impact growers and handler’s ability to supply almonds in a reliable and profitable way. 

Sustainable farming and planning seem to be on everyone’s mind but exactly what will be done is a mystery for now. But, there is no doubt that something has to be done and while there is no solution at the moment, it isn’t correct to say the industry will remain this way. We will provide updates on this as soon as something else comes along.