Nuts

Walnuts: hike in production in China

October 17, 2022 at 12:16 PM , Der AUDITOR
Play report as audio

WASHINGTON, D.C. As the United States Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) reports China's walnut prodcution is set to rise by more than 25% in 2022/2023 on last year. Better weather conditions are not the only reason for this.

Rebound after frost

In the "Tree Nuts Annual" report FAS reckons that China's commercial inshell walnuts prodcutions will rebound by 27% to 1.4 million mt in 2022/2023. The rebound is mainly driven by the recovery in production in Xinjiang province, China's largest growing region for walnuts. Spring frosts prompted a 20% decline in production here last year. Although prospects are also highly encouraging in the mountainous Yunnan province, high labour costs and low farmgate prices, however, render harvesting less attractive here. If traders fail to offer higher prices, the farmers are not able to hire labourers for the harvest. China's actual walnut production, in fact, ranges much higher than the commercial one.

Better quality

FAS, in addition, expects the quality of this year's walnut production to be above average in Xinjiang. As most orchards are located on flatllands it is less costly for farmer to manage and harevst their crops. The varieties produced here also have thin shells, large sizes and light kernel colours. Production in the mountainous areas of Yunnan is, by contrast, much more difficult and the farmers have failed to invest in yields or quality. The walnuts grown in China tend to have a bitter taste and the country imports milder varieties such as Chandler, which is trading at EUR 2.28-4.70/kg (USD 2.23-4.60/kg) in Europe depending on size.

Walnuts

Chandler, origin

EUR/kg

USD/kg

inshell, 30-32 mm, Chile

2.28

2.23

inshell, 30-34 mm, Chile

2.38

2.33

LHP, 20%, USA

4.70

4.60

FCA Spain

 

View more
price charts for nuts, dried fruit and oilseeds and more

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.