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Bulgarian walnuts: Quickly running out of high quality walnuts

March 23, 2017 at 8:06 AM , Starry Night Ltd.
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These are times when supply strategies fail while demand is growing! Farmers fear not to lose export positions to international competitors and keep prices somewhat stable. Relief is not in sight, but at least a hike seems out of the question by the end of the month.

End of marketing season looms in sight

SOFIA: For the last few weeks, the biggest exporters have managed to keep prices of conventional walnuts stable. Currently, conventional light kernels, halves are traded for 7,95 EUR/kg EXW. Entering the fourth week of March, prices of organic kernels have steadily increased, but quantities are so small that trading occurs only on local markets.

Although farmers weekly receive new orders for 10mt, even 20mt of kernel from prospective clients in Western Europe, the biggest ones quickly decline such orders since the season is reaching its end, and realistically, they could not be fulfilled. Besides, high quality kernel is more difficult to find, and farmers cater to the demand of long-term established partnerships to preserve their foreign market positions for the next season.

The local curse: high foreign demand, short supplies

In the beginning of marketing season 2016-17, prices of local kernels were too high to be competitive on the international market. Currently, it is not the price, it is the short availability of high quality kernels that has become the nightmare of local sellers. This time, sellers’ short-term strategies seemingly failed their long-term ones since current availability could not meet the long-term strategies of foreign buyers. Yet, the year’s output was so weak that some time after the harvest ended, farmers started importing from Romania, later from Ukraine and Poland in order to preserve their foreign market positions in Greece, Portugal, Spain, Austria and Germany, among other countries.

There are still supplies of high quality kernels, but they go down by the week.

Organic walnuts, Bulgaria

Type

EUR/kg

light kernels (mix)

8,35

light halves

9,00

light quarters

7,90

light brokens

6,90

amber kernels (mix)

7,39

amber halves

8,00

amber quarters

6,90

amber brokens

6,30

walnut paste

12,45

in shell

3,60-4,00

EXW Bulgaria
   

Conventional walnuts, Bulgaria

Type

EUR/kg

light kernels (mix)

7,36

light halves

7,95

light quarters

6,95

light brokens

6,05

amber kernels (mix)

5,45

amber halves

5,45

amber quarters

5,45

amber brokens

5,45

walnut paste

11,80

in shell

2,0-2,20

EXW Bulgaria

 

 

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