The California pistachio harvest started early, with Nichols Farms getting underway August 11. Usually, the harvest in the state starts around late August or early September.
The Hansford, CA based company reports this year’s production volume is expected to be drastically lower compared to average. Total yields are predicted to be anywhere between 600 and 800 million pounds, down at least 50 percent from last year’s near record yield.
In 2025, growers in the state harvested a total of 1.6 billion pounds.
The decline is mostly due to early spring heat waves which caused the male pistachio trees’ pollen to become infertile. This has significantly impacted the number of female trees that were successfully pollinated to produce fruit.
According to the Administrative Committee for Pistachios, California produced a record 1.5 billion pounds of pistachios in 2023. The industry surpassed that figure in 2025 with a 1.6 billion-pound crop, a 484 per cent increase compared with 2015. During the same period, exports rose by 223 per cent between the 2014/15 and 2024/25 crop years.
Demand has continued to support the market. U.S. per capita availability increased from 0.23 pounds of shelled pistachios in the 2015/16 crop year to nearly 0.70 pounds today. Export shipments have also reached record levels in recent years. Demand has also been supported by the growing use of pistachios as an ingredient in products such as the Dubai chocolate, first introduced in 2022 and later followed by similar products from several international brands.
Pistachios are an alternate-bearing crop, and early hot weather has further reduced yield expectations, particularly in orchards south of Fresno County. Some growers estimate total production could range from 700 million to 900 million pounds, less than half the 2025 crop.
The report concludes that California pistachio production in 2026 is expected to fall below 2025 levels.