Free of charge

Pistachios: run on kernels

May 30, 2022 at 9:42 AM , Der AUDITOR
Play report as audio

TEHRAN. Iran’s pistachio exports have declined sharply between January and April. While drought and excessive heat impacted last year’s production, prospects are also far from encouraging this year. Curiously, there is also a noted run on pistachio kernels.

Buyers play it safe

Trouble is that the severe summer drought not only damaged pistachio trees and impacted quality but also caused many pistachios to grow empty. This in turn prompted an uptick in demand for kernels, which exporters were eager to comply with. Although the prices for pistachio kernels ranged 1.6% higher than last year at USD 11.23/kg, they accounted for 22% of Iran’s total pistachio exports between January and April this year as opposed to 15.5% in the same period last year.

Nevertheless, it should be noted that Iran’s pistachio kernel exports declined by 40% in terms of volume. While the country shipped 9,970 mt of pistachio kernels worth USD 101 million overseas in January-April 2021, this figure only ranged at 6,000 mt worth USD 67 million in January-April 2022. The decline is much more drastic with respect to Iran’s total pistachio exports, which only reached 27,126 mt worth USD 197 million in the first four months this year as compared with 64,238 mt worth USD 438 million in the same period last year.

Depreciation fails to produce desired effect

Although optimistic voices state that Iran’s production will prove resilient to climate change and range at around 200,000 mt per year, others are far less optimistic. Traders, for instance, report that the sudden frost in early spring has caused severe damage and that production is set to decline again this year. As prices have already surged in recent weeks due to low inventories, there is little hope that the supply situation will improve in near future. These low inventories have even compensated for the depreciation of the Iranian rial in recent weeks.

Pistachios, Iran

Inshell, NO

EUR/kg*

USD/kg*

Ahmad Aghaei, 24-26

12.95

13.90

Ahmad Aghaei, 26-28

12.17

13.06

Akbari, 20-22

14.33

15.38

Akbari 22-24

13.54

14.53

Kale Ghuchi, 22-24

12.36

13.26

Kale Ghuchi 24-26

12.95

13.90

Fandoghi, 30-32

10.60

11.37

Fandoghi 32-34

10.20

10.95

FOB Iran

*Please note that these reference prices apply to an order volume of 1 mt. Prices may range lower for higher volumes.

 

View more
price charts, pistachios, Iran
more price charts

View related articles

Go to the News Overview
Nuts
Aug 20, 2026
SACRAMENTO/REUS. With harvesting well underway a more consistent picture is emerging for US almonds. Harvest reports are also impacting prices. INC estimates predict a similar kernel production to last year.
Nuts
Aug 20, 2026
ORDU/REUS. With TMO and free market prices diverging for hazelnuts the market is anxiously waiting for growers to act. Anticipation is that new crop arrivals may be delayed. Production estimates have changed for Italy.
Nuts
Aug 19, 2026
MANILA. The coconut market remains under pressure: whilst export quotations for desiccated coconuts are stable, prices for coconut oil and Philippine copra continue to fall. At the same time, the increasing likelihood of a strong El Niño is raising the risk to coconut supplies in 2027.
Nuts
Aug 19, 2026
BEIJING/CAPE TOWN. The INC is forecasting a significantly larger macadamia crop this year. China is the leading producer and also a major importer, while South Africa and Australia are also expecting higher yields.