2016 California walnut shipments are forecast at 670,000 tons, up 11 percent from 2015’s volume of 603,000 tons. For the season starting in 2016 there was an impressive 16.8 percent jump in loadings. Growing conditions and quality are reported good for the 2017 crop. One of the larger California nut shippers is Mariani Nut Co. of Winters, CA, which grows almonds and walnuts in the Sacramento Valley on 14,000 irrigated acres.
Posts Tagged “pistachio shipments”
Record pistachio shipments are expected to take place starting this fall.
The American Pistachio Growers of Fresno, CA believe the current harvest could hit the one billion-pound mark for the first time in California.
An advertising campaign focuses on pistachios as a “complete protein,” joining the ranks of plant proteins that include quinoa, chickpeas and soybeans that are popular among vegetarians and consumers wishing to move away from animal proteins, according to a news release.
Beginning in mid-November and continuing through next summer, ads will appear in 44 U.S. television markets. American Pistachio Growers is sponsoring New Year’s Eve countdowns in Las Vegas and Dallas.
Pistachios rank sixth in terms of value among California commodities, at $1.94 billion, according to 2019 data from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and are the second in export commodities, at $1.1 billion.
A Rabobank report projects bearing pistachio acreage could reach 372,000 acres by 2024-25, a 30 percent increase from the most recent season.
American Pistachio Growers represents more than 800 growers and processors in California, Arizona and New Mexico.
Here’s a shipping outlook for dates and various nuts coming out of California.
A bumper crop of California date shipments is seen by some coming out the Southern California desert region, with yields reported to be 20 percent higher than last season.
Harvest got underway with the beginning of September. Among the major California date shippers are Hadley Date Gardens of Thermal, Atlas Produce and Distribution of Bakersfield, and Sunsweet Growers Inc. of Yuba City.
Walnut and Almond Shipments
California grows and ships nearly all walnuts in the U.S. and has 315,000 bearing acres due to the region’s mild climate and deep fertile soils providing ideal growing conditions.
The California pistachio harvest is going full bore and the state accounts for 99 percent of pistachio shipments in the U.S. This year is an off-year for pistachio trees, and may be off even more than usual for this type of year.
A mild California winter failed to provide enough chilling hours, adversely affecting pollination. However, the California drought also is hurting.
California’s lack of water is also impacting yields because the trees form a shell first and during a later stage, the nut fills the shell during a critical time. As a result many trees are only producing shells and the share of blanks has increased significantly. At this point it is difficult to predict total shipments, but the hare of blanks in some orchards are as high as 70 percent.
Between September 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015 California exported 61 percent of its pistachio production. China is the number one market for the US, followed by the European Union. Iran is the US’ main competitor in pistachio production, and the U.S. is at a disadvantage in China because of Iran’s proximity to China.
It will be a few more weeks before California citrus shipments really get cranked up from the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.
About 88 million cartons of California navels should be loaded this season, down slightly at 2 percent from last season. A few growers started harvest the week of October 7. Limited shipments will be underway at the end of October, with good loading opportunities coming the second week of November, just in time for the Thanksgiving holidays.
Table grapes continue to provide heavy volume from the San Joaquin Valley, and it is little wonder if you’ve tasted the fruit this season. With high sugar levels, consumers, including me, keep going back to the store for more. About 1,800 truck loads of grapes per week are being loaded in California.
Carrot Shipments
There is steady movement of carrots out of the Kern District in the Bakersfield area, averaging over 300 truck load equivalents per week.
Huron Lettuce Shipments
It’s only about a 30-day window for head lettuce loadings coming out of the Westside of the San Joaquin Valley, known as the Huron district. Harvest has just started, but it will be the week of October 28th before significant loadings occur….Meanwhile lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower continue out of the Salinas Valley in light to moderate volume.
Pistachio Shipments
The forecast pegs shipments amounting to 460 million pounds, off from 550 million pounds a year ago. Expect substantially higher prices in your local supermarkets.