Almonds: elevated exports and busy bees
February 28, 2024 at 10:34 AM ,
Der AUDITOR
Strong December in Spain
December was a comparatively strong month in Spain. At 11,352 mt exports ranged 11% higher than the 10,240 mt registered in December 2022. Total exports for the season were, however, left trailing 3% behind last year at 62,615 mt. France retained its position as leading export destination for Spain, despite shipments flatlining at 15,049 mt. Contrary to this, shipments to Germany and Italy declined. The top ten destinations exclusively comprise countries in Western Europe.
With the almond trees in bloom in many areas much attention is being paid to the weather. Spain is suffering form a prolonged drought. As excessive heat has left many reservoirs across the country depleted and the popular tourist destination Barcelona has introduced emergency measures calls are becoming more urgent for agriculture to use less water. The agricultural sector in fact uses more than 80% of Spain’s water supplies and produces water-intensive crops for export, despite operating in one of the driest countries in Europe. Almond suppliers are also concerned with the fact that the trees have suffered from heat stress, which is expected to impact yields this year.
|
Almond exports, Spain (in mt) |
|||
|
Destination |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
Diff |
|
France |
14,901 |
15,049 |
1.0% |
|
Germany |
14,551 |
12,745 |
-12.4% |
|
Italy |
11,075 |
10,553 |
-4.7% |
|
Portugal |
2,701 |
3,187 |
18.0% |
|
Netherlands |
1,585 |
2,135 |
34.7% |
|
UK |
2,384 |
2,127 |
-10.8% |
|
Poland |
2,070 |
1,861 |
-10.1% |
|
Belgium |
1,957 |
1,579 |
-19.3% |
|
Switzerland |
1,192 |
1,178 |
-1.2% |
|
Austria |
748 |
1,016 |
35.8% |
|
Others |
11,580 |
11,185 |
-3.4% |
|
Total |
64,744 |
62,615 |
-3.3% |
|
Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Spain, 01/08-31/12 |
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Busy bees in California
California has, by contrast, experienced one of the wettest Februarys on record. Water allocations are up and with reservoirs levels ahead of capacity for the time of year water should not become an issue. The bloom has started and pollination is well underway. Shipments are still strong and as receipts are still arriving the final crop size may well exceed industry expectations of 2.4 billion pounds.
View more
- price chart, almonds, natural, +14, Valencia
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