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Pecans: differing export trends

September 28, 2026 at 12:44 PM , Der AUDITOR
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IRVING. August was a weak month for US pecans. Domestic demand fell sharply in 2025/2026. Shelled meat shipments are down. China is not responsible for the rise in in-shell exports.

Weak August

Monthly in-shell basis shipments fell to 22.1 million pounds in August 2026, as much as 32% lower than the 32.6 million pounds noted in August 2025 according to the latest Shipment Report issued by the American Pecan Council (APC). Shelled meat retail grocery shipments thereby declined by 14% to 9.2 million pounds as compared with last year’s 10.8 million pounds and in-shell retail grocery shipments by 37% to 214,117 pounds from 341,332 pounds. Monthly shelled meat exports even slumped by 69%, from 5.2 million pounds in August 2025 to 1.6 million pounds in August 2026.

Sharp domestic decline for in-shell pecans

At 343.7 million pounds total in-shell basis shipments finished the season 11% lower than the 385.7 million pounds noted in 2024/2025. Retail grocery shipments thereby dipped by a minor 1% for shelled meats, namely from 132.6 million pounds in 2024/2025 to 131.2 million pounds in 2025/2026, but declined sharply by 62% for inshells, namely from 37.1 million pounds in 2024/2025 to as little as 14.2 million pounds in 2025/2026. According to the U.S. Pecan Market Analysis issued by the ACP in July domestic consumption has fallen to the lowest since 2019/2020. Exports showed opposite developments.

Shelled meat exports down

Shelled meat exports fell by 23% in 2025/2026 with shipments to all destination in the top ten down - noted exception is Germany. Exports to Canada declined by 13% and subtotal shipments to North America witnessed a 9% downturn from 7.2 million pounds in 2024/2025 to 6.5 million pounds in 2025/2026.

Although Israel maintained the position as second most important destination in the top ten chart, exports fell by 23%. Saudi Arabia even showed a 60% slump. At 5.9 million pounds total shipments to the Middle East as a region ranged 37% lower than the 9.4 million pounds in 2024/2026.

With a 33% decline the Netherlands remained the top European destination in 2025/2026. Exports to the UK and France showed similar declines and Lithuania a more moderate slip of 7%. At 11.3 million pounds total shipments to Europe stood 23% lower than the 14.6 million pounds noted in the previous season.

Exports to Japan are also 8% down. Total shipments to Asia declined by 20%, from 6.3 million pounds in 2024/2025 to 5.1 million pounds in 2025/2026.

US pecan exports (1,000 pounds)

Destination

2024/25

2025/26

Diff.

Canada

6,763

5,919

-12.5%

Israel

5,456

4,182

-23.4%

Netherlands

4,538

3,063

-32.5%

South Korea

3,066

2,831

-7.7%

UK

2,970

2,059

-30.7%

Germany

1,152

1,571

34.4%

Saudi Arabia

2,530

1,008

-60.2%

Lithuania

744

696

-6.5%

Japan

689

637

-7.5%

France

1,380

884

-36.0%

Others

8,308

6,193

-25.5%

Total

37,596

29,043

-22.7%

American Pecan Council, 01/09-31/08
Shelled

In-shell shipment rise not driven by China

By contrast, in-shell exports rose a bit by 9%. While shipments to China as the main export destination slumped by 40% in 2025/2026, exports to Mexico more than doubled. Morocco and especially Lebanon saw sharp upturns and six destinations in Europe purchased in-shell pecans for the first time. At 3.6 million pounds exports to Asia fell by 40% as compared with the 6.1 million pounds noted in 2024/2025. Shipments to North America, by contrast, more than doubled to 3.5 million pounds as opposed to the 1.4 million pounds noted in 2024/2025. At 45 million pounds the net open position stood 10% lower than last year’s 45 million pounds as of 31 August 2026.

US pecan exports (1,000 pounds)

Destination

2024/25

2025/26

Diff.

China

5,962

3,590

-39.8%

Mexico

1,417

3,499

146.9%

Morocco

356

527

48.0%

Lebanon

96

474

393.8%

France

0

294

0.0%

Germany

0

182

0.0%

UK

0

162

0.0%

India

0

44

0.0%

Estonia

0

44

0.0%

Poland

0

41

0.0%

Others

272

0

-

Total

8,103

8,856

9.3%

American Pecan Council, 01/09-31/08
Inshell

 

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