California Walnut Industry Doing Very Well
Quality Is Great, Demand is Up, So are Prices
Like other nut crops California walnuts are doing very well on increased shipments and good pricing for growers
According to the latest figures there are 245,000 bearing acres in the state producing 497,000 tons last year
“This year, early varieties production was down and that created a shortage early on, Carl Edith, Technical Support Director for the California Walnut Commission in Folsom, Calif.
“Of course the late Chandler variety, the star of the industry is just being harvested now and is high in shell demand in China and Turkey, said Eidsath. Driving demand even stronger is the nut’s high quality, especially its size this season. “Prices are up for growers, especially on the jumbo/ large Hartley variety, which was exceeding $2.00 a pound. Chandlers should do equally well and most likely better.”
Eidsath note that consumer demand is increasing especially in China and Turkey. “Domestic is still the biggest user even though we export 60 percent of the crop,” he said.
