Almond market goes nuts

The Australian almond industry set a new record in June 2016, breaking through the $100 million barrier for monthly export sales for the first time.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that overseas shipments of almonds had a value of $118 million in June, beating the previous record of $90 million shipped in May 2016.

The June sales figure was 75% higher than the same month in 2015, and the year to June export figure of $318 million is $79 million more than at the same time 12 months ago, putting the industry on track to reach its forecast export sales of 55,000 tonnes in 2016, with a value of more than $600 million.

“The industry marketers continue to do an excellent job in selling the record 2015 crop, at prices averaging $11.55 a kilo for the first six months of the year, well above last year’s prices,” said Ross Skinner, CEO of the Almond Board of Australia.

“Strong demand for Australian almonds exists, and with the improving global price quoted in US dollars combined with the falling Australian dollar also working in our favour, the return on export tonnage has risen significantly throughout this year.”

India is Australia’s single largest market with over 10,600 tonnes already shipped in 2016 compared to 7100 tonnes the previous year.

“The China and India FTAs will be very advantageous to the Australian industry as these are two of the largest almond markets in the world, and the removal of tariffs will make a significant impact on returns from these markets,” Skinner stated.

The Almond Board of Australia reports that the industry has bounced back well from the challenging period towards the end of the drought, when the severe water allocation reductions and high prices for water impacted on the bottom line of producers. Many producers are again investing in establishing new orchards to meet the world’s growing appetite for almonds.