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Walnuts: Organic is the new fad

October 24, 2017 at 12:33 PM , Starry Night Ltd.
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SOFIA. EU subsidies and the price premium of organic walnuts encourage local parties to heavily invest in the cultivation of substantial acreages.

BULGARIA. Never before have some owners of organic orchards seen such a strong demand for walnuts so early in the marketing season. According to them, their positions are only covered for the short-term. On the other hand, on the conventional side of walnut business, local suppliers see their mid-term positions well-covered.

Organic cultivation of nuts in Bulgaria – not only of walnuts, but also of almonds and hazelnuts – has skyrocketed recently due to EU subsidies and strong market demand.

Walnuts: Organic cultivation is substantially increasing

The cultivation of organic orchards in Bulgaria has recently become more widely spread, and the long history of substantial walnut farming in the country helps farmers come with strong positions on the market; it takes a few years (transitory period), for an orchard to become organically certified. According to a recent USDA report on Tree Nuts Annual, cultivation of organic walnut orchards increased from 7,199 ha (2014) to 11,340 ha (2015).

EU subsidies have triggered enormous interest in walnut cultivation, although some local farmers complain that subsidies need to be tied to realized and sold produce on the market, and not simply to owned and/or rented orchards. If that would happen, subsidies would be better targeted to the right parties – those who invest in the cultivation of walnut orchards in order to solely get the nuts on the market, – which will lead to a substantial output increase!

Organic walnuts, Bulgaria

Type

EUR/kg

light kernels (mix)

9.02

light halves

9.60

light quarters

8.60

light brokens

7.80

amber kernels (mix)

7.98

amber halves

8.50

amber quarters

7.60

amber brokens

6.90

in shell

4.10

EXW Bulgaria
   

Walnuts, Bulgaria

Type

EUR/kg

light kernels (mix)

7.56

light halves

8.16

light quarters

7.14

light brokens

6.20

amber kernels (mix)

6.15

amber halves

6.15

amber quarters

6.15

amber brokens

6.15

in shell

2.07

EXW Bulgaria

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