U.S. almond and walnut exports moved briskly during Q4 2018. Almond exports totaled 498.5 million pounds (shelled and in-shell basis), which was down less than 1 percent from Q4 2017’s record volume and was 26 percent higher than the five-year average for Q4. The dip in exports is more attributable to a slight softening in demand from India than from loss of Chinese demand (although buying from China did fall off sharply in 2018).
Walnut shipments fared a bit worse than almonds, with volume in Q4 2018 being down 3 percent year over year due in part to the loss of the Chinese market and down 22 percent from the record set in 2016, when Turkish imports soared; however, stronger domestic utilization is helping move supply.
Leave A Comment