Walnuts: Different regions tell different stories
May 30, 2018 at 11:10 AM ,
Starry Night Ltd.
BULGARIA. Local walnuts are famous for their crispness and taste, but the country is not a large producer of walnuts on an annual basis. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, harvested orchards for the year 2015 reached 5,055 ha (an aggregate production of 3,627 mt in shell) while for the year 2016, harvested area accounted for 6,280 ha (an aggregate production of 4,959 mt in shell). Expectations are for harvest 2017, farmers to have harvested even larger areas and thus having collected a higher output.
Walnuts: Current conditions and short-term prospects
Recently, different areas within regions were hit by hailstorms, having frozen balls bigger than matured walnuts, but their impacts have been locally confined. Rains have fallen throughout the country, as in places showers have been substantial while in others, rains barely touched the ground.
Nationwide, if a collective picture of current walnut trees’ conditions were to be taken, it would show different patterns, even within a region. Within the Southeast region – where some of the largest orchards are situated, weather conditions have been favourable for the development of the crop, according to local farmers. In the Central North and Northeast, however, some farmers complain that the little snow that fell during March devastated the trees. They estimate at least a 50% cut in expected production.
Overall, more farmers seem to be encouraged of how their orchards currently fare than those who complain. However, in the following few months before harvest 2018-19 begins, farmers still have to go through frosts and hailstorms, which if prolonged in duration and exhibiting a strong magnitude of impact, could well change the prevailing market sentiment right now; as it did in regions last year!
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