Nuts

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
Apr 24, 2024
MANILA. Lower raw material production due to El Niño, rising freight costs and geopolitical tensions are just some of the hurdles the coconut market has to face. Market players are correspondingly cautious.
Nuts
Apr 22, 2024
NEW DELHI/BUENOS AIRES. In India, some states have significantly expanded their peanut cultivation and can now get involved in the market. In Argentina, prices appear to have bottomed out and the outlook in Brazil is anything but optimistic.
Nuts
Apr 22, 2024
REUS/NEW DELHI. The International Nut and Dried Fruit Council has revised the 2022/2023 production estimates for cashews upwards. Yet, prospects for 2024/2025 are far from encouraging. In India the market has started to turn.
Nuts
Apr 18, 2024
BRUSSELS/REUS. Imports from Russia may have declined sharply for pine nuts since 2022, yet the country still holds a key position in the EU. Global production fell sharply in 2023/2024.