Pine nuts: global deficit of 27.3% expected
May 15, 2025 at 3:50 PM ,
Der AUDITOR
Crop in the Mediterranean region expected to increase by almost 29%
Hardly any other nut crop is subject to such regular fluctuations as global pine nut production. During the congress of the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council last week in Palma, Spain, a crop of 126,620 mt of in-shell pine nuts was forecast for the 2025/2026 season, which would be a decline of 27.3% compared to the previous year; in the 2023/2024 season, however, production totalled just 78,180 mt, while in 2022/2023 it was 165,550 mt. In the main producing countries, harvesting largely takes place in the wilderness, there are hardly any commercially cultivated areas and procurement is often associated with high risks for harvesters.
The majority of global production is harvested in countries such as China (-64.1% year-on-year to 40,000 mt), North Korea (+/-0.0% to 30,000 mt), the Siberian part of Russia (+66.7% to 25,000 mt) and Mongolia (9,000 mt). Significant quantities of Pinus pinea are also harvested in the Mediterranean region, with Turkey (+39.4% year-on-year to 7,600 mt), Italy (-20.0% to 500 mt), Portugal (+/-0.0% to 500 mt) and Spain (+/-0.0% to 500 mt) being the most important origins. However, since the extreme drought in Spain and Portugal in the 2022/2023 season, yields are still suffering from the after-effects. In that season, production in both countries still totalled 1,200 mt each; in the following year, 2,070 mt were harvested in Spain, while production in Portugal fell to 700 mt. Overall, the pine nut crop in the Mediterranean region is expected to increase by as much as 28.6% to 9,520 mt in the coming season. Together with the carry-over stocks from the current season, 214,790 mt of pine nuts are still expected to be available on the international market in 2025/2026, which would be around 14,500 mt more than in the previous year.
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Global pine nut production, in mt |
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|
Asia (Pinus koraiensis, P. sibirica, P yunnanensis, P. gerardiana) |
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|
Country |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
Diff. |
|
China |
111,500 |
40,000 |
-64.1% |
|
North Korea |
30,000 |
30,000 |
0.0% |
|
Russia (Siberia) |
15,000 |
25,000 |
66.7% |
|
Mongolia |
7,000 |
9,000 |
28.6% |
|
Afghanistan |
2,300 |
7,800 |
239.1% |
|
Pakistan |
800 |
5,200 |
550.0% |
|
Subtotal |
166,600 |
117,000 |
-29.8% |
|
Mediterranean (Pinus pinea) |
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|
Turkey |
5,450 |
7,600 |
39.4% |
|
Italy |
625 |
500 |
-20.0% |
|
Portugal |
500 |
500 |
0.0% |
|
Spain |
500 |
500 |
0.0% |
|
Others |
330 |
420 |
27.3% |
|
Subtotal |
7,405 |
9,520 |
28.6% |
|
Total |
174,005 |
126,520 |
-27.3% |
|
INC, May 2025 |
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80% of EU imports come from China
Between 1 January and 4 May 2025, a total of 3,953 mt of pine nuts worth EUR 67.435 million were imported into the EU from third countries. This means that the import volume increased by 31.4% year-on-year and the import value by a whopping 37.9%. At EUR 17.06/kg, the average import price in this period was also around 5% higher than last year.
Shipments from China increased by 40.8% to 3,150 mt during this period, meaning that almost 80% of total EU imports came from there. The EU also increased its imports from Mongolia (+460.0% to 224 mt) and Afghanistan (+550.0% to 39 mt). In contrast, imports from Russia and Turkey fell by 26.0% to 368 mt and 20.0% to 140 mt respectively. The main importers in the EU are Germany (+81.3% to 1,940 mt), Italy (+61.8% to 521 mt) and the Netherlands (-23.8% to 478 mt).
|
EU pine nut imports, in mt |
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|
Partner |
2024 |
2025 |
Diff. |
|
China |
2,238 |
3,150 |
40.8% |
|
Russia |
497 |
368 |
-26.0% |
|
Mongolia |
40 |
224 |
460.0% |
|
Turkey |
175 |
140 |
-20.0% |
|
Afghanistan |
6 |
39 |
550.0% |
|
Others |
52 |
32 |
-38.5% |
|
Total |
3,008 |
3,953 |
31.4% |
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DG AGRI TAXUD Customs Surveillance System, 01/01-04/05 08029100+08029200 Fresh or dried pine nuts, shelled and unshelled |
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