Walnuts: closer ties to Russia and good standing in India
September 18, 2026 at 10:37 AM ,
Der AUDITOR
Differing trends
Chile’s exports are showing differing tendencies. While in-shell exports have fallen, shelled walnut exports are up. In August, monthly in-shell shipments even slumped by 41%, from 16,072 mt in August 2025 to 9,442 mt in August 2026. Shelled walnut exports, by contrast, rose by 15% from 5,664 mt in August last year to 6,501 mt in August this year. In-shell equivalent exports consequently ranged 17% lower at 23,422 mt as compared with the 28,253 mt noted last year.
Closer in-shell ties to Russia
At 93,410 mt total in-shell equivalent exports stand 8% lower than the 100,962 mt registered in the same period last year. In-shell shipments have thereby dipped by 17%. Yet, exports to India as the leading destination have bounced back and range 23% higher than last year. Exports to Vietnam as the only other country from Asia featuring in the top ten have, by contrast, declined by 17%. At 22,536 mt subtotal shipments to Asia stand 21% higher than last year’s 18,675 mt.
While shipments to large importing countries in Western Europe are clearly down with Italy sporting an 8% dip, Spain a 43% decline and Germany a 48% reduction, exports to Russia have more than tripled this season so far. Subtotal shipments to Europe range 13% lower than last year’s 18,722 mt at 16,340 mt.
Exports to Turkey have slumped by 43% and Lebanon is showing a similar decrease of 39%. By contrast, shipments to Morocco have more than doubled. At 12,440 mt Chile’s subtotal shipments to the Middle East and Africa stand as much as 51% lower than the 25,325 mt recorded in the same period last year.
Peru is showing a 7% uptick and is the only neighbouring country from America presented in the top ten chart. Total shipments to America have risen by 26%, from 1,341 mt in 2025 to 1,690 mt in 2026.
|
Walnut exports, Chile, inshell (mt) |
|||
|
Destination |
2025 |
2026 |
Diff. |
|
India |
17,605 |
21,585 |
22.6% |
|
Italy |
8,780 |
8,057 |
-8.2% |
|
Turkey |
13,637 |
7,792 |
-42.9% |
|
Morocco |
1,553 |
3,720 |
139.5% |
|
Spain |
3,573 |
2,055 |
-42.5% |
|
Germany |
3,094 |
1,303 |
-47.9% |
|
Russia |
314 |
1,088 |
246.5% |
|
Peru |
968 |
1,039 |
7.3% |
|
Vietnam |
786 |
652 |
-17.0% |
|
Lebanon |
567 |
345 |
-39.2% |
|
Others |
13,186 |
5,370 |
-59.3% |
|
Total |
64,063 |
53,006 |
-17.3% |
|
ChileNut, 01/04-31/08 |
|||
Europe buys lion’s share of shelled walnuts
Chile’s total shelled walnut exports have risen by 8% this year with countries in Western Europe dominating the top ten chart. Exports to Spain as most important trading partner have dipped by 4%, whereas shipments to Italy stand 39% higher and Germany is sporting a 28% downturn. This mixed bag is also perceptible in shipments to Portugal, France and the UK and Switzerland with subtotal shipments to Europe ranging a small 1% higher than last year’s 15,117 mt at 15,285 mt.
With impressive triple-digit rises Brazil and Ecuador are the only non-European countries in the top ten. At 2,462 mt the subtotal exports to America, in fact, stand more than twice as high as last year’s 1,183 mt.
|
Walnut exports, Chile, shelled (mt) |
|||
|
Destination |
2025 |
2026 |
Diff. |
|
Spain |
2,905 |
2,802 |
-3.5% |
|
Italy |
2,006 |
2,789 |
39.0% |
|
Germany |
3,687 |
2,646 |
-28.2% |
|
Netherlands |
3,426 |
2,290 |
-33.2% |
|
Brazil |
431 |
1,326 |
207.7% |
|
Ecuador |
187 |
521 |
178.6% |
|
Portugal |
490 |
508 |
3.7% |
|
France |
679 |
507 |
-25.3% |
|
UK |
439 |
502 |
14.4% |
|
Switzerland |
369 |
317 |
-14.1% |
|
Others |
2,539 |
4,454 |
75.4% |
|
Total |
17,158 |
18,662 |
8.8% |
|
ChileNut, 01/04-31/08 |
|||
Chile dominates India’s import market
According to the recent USDA FAS Tree Nuts Annual Chile dominates India’s import market for walnuts with a share of 39%, followed by Afghanistan with 26% and the US with 21%. For MY 2025/2026 imports, however, fell short of the official USDA projection of 75,000 mt with the new estimate now standing at 65,600 mt. This decline was prompted by stricter regulations enforced by Indian customs authorities to curb under-invoicing and tax evasion.
Optimism, however, prevails that things will improve with the USDA currently projecting a 10% rise in imports to 72,000 mt in 2026/2027. India relies on imports. Driven by a growing economy and a middle class with rising health consciousness demand for walnuts is on the rise in India with consumption expected to increase by 8% to 103,250 mt in 2026/2027 as compared with the 94,905 mt projected for 2025/2026.
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