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Pecans: demand from China has recovered

September 21, 2021 at 12:23 PM , Der AUDITOR
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ATLANTA. The harvest of the early pecan varieties has begun and producers can achieve good prices, not least due to the high demand from China. The fact that there are hardly any goods from the old crop left in the warehouses is also pushing prices up.

Farmers achieve good prices

In northern Mexico, pecan farmers started harvesting the early varieties last week. Buyers are already putting out feelers and making the first offers to growers - much earlier than last year, as Pecan Report reports. Since demand is relatively high, farmers are currently in the comfortable position of rejecting offers they consider too cheap. A big advantage for American suppliers is the fact that China is back in the market. Since the trade war began in July 2018, it has been difficult for growers and producers to achieve good prices. Before that, China was one of the main buyers and now that tariffs have been lowered again, sales of US nuts to China are recovering.

USA fights supply bottlenecks

Because the harvest in the eastern USA usually starts only a few days after that in northern Mexico, a much larger volume of early pecans should soon be available on the market. With hardly any stocks left in cold storage, prices on the European spot market have continued to rise. Fancy Junior Mammoth Halves are now trading at 10.65 EUR/kg FCA Spain. If demand from China remains constant or even increases further, the US will be hard pressed to make up for the gap that already exists between supply and demand. The country already has to import large quantities of raw materials.

German imports of US pecans remain stable

At 3,712 mt in the period September 2020 to July 2021, German imports of US pecans remain almost unchanged. Second place among the most important suppliers for Germany is occupied by Mexico, albeit at a considerable distance; imports from the USA are almost 13 times higher than those from Mexico. Although German imports from the Netherlands increased by a full 375%, they are still relatively low at 152 mt.

Pecan* imports, Germany, in mt

Country

2019/20

2020/21

Diff.

USA

3,713

3,712

0.0%

Mexico

241

289

19.9%

Netherlands

32

152

375.0%

South Africa

39

57

46.2%

Peru

48

48

0.0%

Others

28

45

60.7%

Total

4,101

4,303

4.9%

Federal Statistical Office of Germany / Sep-Jul

*08029010 Fresh or dried pecans, whether or not shelled or peeled

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