Peanuts: difficulties are hard to assess
April 5, 2022 at 4:00 PM ,
Der AUDITOR
Acreage could be increased
The peanut market, like pretty much all agricultural commodities, is currently facing problems that are difficult to assess. The coronavirus pandemic is still leaving its mark, among other things through a lack of labour, a shortage of freight capacities and measures that interrupt the flow of trade. Now that initial improvements have been made, the war in Ukraine initiated by Putin is leading to global problems of huge proportions. As The Peanut Grower reports, producers are currently struggling with the high cost of fuel, while the increased price of fertiliser could play into the hands of peanut farmers. As peanuts are frugal in this respect and mainly need calcium, competing products such as cotton and corn need large amounts of nitrogen. This could lead to an increase in the area under peanut cultivation. The first official figures already confirm that the peanut acreage in Georgia is likely to be 5% larger than last year.
Search for alternative markets
The USDA reports that there is still good demand on the domestic market, which has even increased slightly year-on-year. The US government buys large quantities of peanut butter and roasted peanuts for various nutrition programmes. However, exports in December 2021 fell significantly by 48% compared to the same month in 2020. According to The Peanut Grower, this is due to the general global economic situation, which first needs to recover - which is unlikely to be the case in the near future. The Ukraine war is causing "maximum uncertainty", according to the experts. Brazil, Argentina and India are the most important exporters of peanuts to Ukraine and Russia; these countries now have to look for alternative markets. Meanwhile, there is movement in relations between the US and the UK, which are currently negotiating to lift 25% tariffs on US peanut butter.
|
Peanuts |
|
|
Type |
USD/mt |
|
Bold, 40-50, FOB India* |
1,290 |
|
Bold, 50-60, FOB India* |
1,255 |
|
Bold, 60-70, FOB India* |
1,135 |
|
Java, 50-60, FOB India* |
1,465 |
|
Java, 60-70, FOB India* |
1,395 |
|
Java, 70-80, FOB India* |
1,385 |
|
Red Skin, 60/70, China, FCA Spain |
1,950 |
|
Runner, blanched, 38/42, Argentina, FCA Spain |
1,630 |
|
Trade sources; *non-EU quality |
|
EU exports decline by almost 11%
Imports to the EU also recorded a significant year-on-year decline of almost 11% in 2021. A total of 536,050 mt of shelled peanuts were imported into EU countries, compared to 400,372 mt in 2020. The declines in imports from Brazil (-17.2%) and China (-16.3%) are particularly marked, but the top supplier Argentina also exported over 9% less to EU countries. Overall, none of the most important producing countries were able to achieve increases.
|
EU imports of shelled peanuts*, in mt |
|||
|
Supplier |
2020 |
2021 |
Diff. |
|
Argentina |
442,011 |
401,960 |
-9.1% |
|
Brazil |
43,824 |
36,286 |
-17.2% |
|
China |
37,595 |
31,476 |
-16.3% |
|
USA |
30,259 |
28,553 |
-5.6% |
|
Nicaragua |
19,539 |
17,667 |
-9.6% |
|
Others |
27,144 |
20,108 |
-25.9% |
|
Total |
600,372 |
536,050 |
-10.7% |
|
European Commission *12024200 Groundnuts, shelled, whether or not broken (excl. seed for sowing, roasted or otherwise cooked) |
|||
View more
- price chart, peanuts, with skin, 40/50, Bold, India
- price chart peanuts, with skin, 50/60, Java, India
- price charts for nuts, dried fruit, oilseeds and many more products
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