Walnuts: Ukrainian exports slump dramatically
February 25, 2026 at 2:56 PM ,
Der AUDITOR
Major exporter loses ground
For many years, Ukraine was one of the leading suppliers of walnuts on the world market. Within two decades, the country initially ranked third behind the USA and China, before falling to fourth place as a result of growing export volumes from Chile. Between 2020 and 2024, Ukrainian exports totalled over 160,000 mt worth USD 461.4 million, according to national statistics. This means that the industry generated an average of around USD 92.2 million per year and contributed about one-third of Ukraine's foreign exchange earnings from the export of edible fruits and nuts, according to FreshPlaza, citing agroportal.ua.
In 2025, however, there was a drastic decline: export revenues fell by 90% to just USD 9.2 million. Shelled walnuts – the most important export segment – were particularly hard hit, with exports plummeting by 97% year-on-year. Exports of inshell walnuts also fell significantly by 76%.
Global supply is growing
While Ukrainian shipments slumped, global production increased significantly. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, global supply rose by 35.8% between 2015 and 2025 to 2.715 million mt of inshell walnuts. In the European Union, production increased by 18.2% over the same period, but has been declining since 2022, falling from 163,000 mt to 139,400 mt, according to agroportal.ua.
At the same time, the EU is dependent on high imports to meet demand. In 2025, EU countries therefore imported a total of 194,783 mt of shelled and unshelled walnuts, which is 10.3% more than the 176,582 mt imported in 2024. The most important supplier by far was the USA with 84,899 mt, followed by Chile (+33.9% to 46,271 mt) and China, which increased its shipments to the EU by a whopping 262% to 30,555 mt. Ukraine ranks fourth with 18,819 mt. Since the beginning of the year (1 January to 22 February 2026), however, EU imports have been declining; 27,643 mt have been imported so far, compared to 32,718 mt in the same period last year.
The largest buyers in the EU in 2025 were Germany with 63,650 mt (+44%), Italy with 40,520 mt (-2.8%) and Spain with 30,380 mt (+4%). Here, too, there has been a decline since the beginning of the year. Between 1 January and 22 February 2026, Germany imported a total of 17% fewer walnuts than in the same period last year, Italy imported 4.9% fewer, and Spain saw a decline of 14.3%.
|
EU walnut imports, in mt |
|||
|
Partner |
2024 |
2025 |
Diff. |
|
USA |
101,559 |
84,899 |
-16.4% |
|
Chile |
34,559 |
46,271 |
33.9% |
|
China |
8,435 |
30,555 |
262.2% |
|
Ukraine |
19,268 |
18,819 |
-2.3% |
|
Argentina |
4,810 |
3,957 |
-17.7% |
|
Others |
7,951 |
10,282 |
29.3% |
|
Total |
176,582 |
194,783 |
10.3% |
|
DG AGRI TAXUD Customs Surveillance System, 01/01-31/12 08023100+08023200 Walnuts, shelled and inshell |
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