Almonds: Australia sets new records

September 19, 2024 at 8:58 AM , Der AUDITOR
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CANBERRA. Good demand from China and a high-yield crop have enabled Australian almond exporters to enjoy a successful season. In contrast, other buyer countries are recording significantly lower imports.

July exports up by 35%

Australia's exports are currently setting new records month after month. July exports increased by 35.3% year-on-year to 20,139 mt, the best July result ever recorded. Total domestic and foreign shipments also rose by 33.8% to 22,450 mt in this period. This was primarily due to shipmentss to China, which totalled 12,055 mt in July 2024, an increase of 113.4% compared to last year. Exports to Turkey (+35% to 1,224 mt) and the United Arab Emirates (+134.7% to 338 mt) also increased, while shipments to countries such as India (-19.6% to 2,658 mt), Vietnam (-32.3% to 1,283 mt), Germany (-9.7% to 427 mt) and Spain (-25.9% to 409 mt) declined.

Given the good export figures of recent months, it is not surprising that total exports this season are also at a record high. Between March and July 2024, a total of 70,990 mt of shelled and unshelled almonds were delivered domestically and overseas, an increase of 16.2% compared to the same period last year. However, while domestic shipments in the first five months of the 2024/2025 season remained relatively stable at 10,187 mt (+0.9% year-on-year), the export volume increased by 19.2% year-on-year to 60,803 mt. China remains the main customer and more than doubled its imports in this period to 33,805 mt. Shipments to Germany also increased by around 50% to 1,783 mt, while exports to larger customer countries such as India, Turkey, Spain and Vietnam declined.

Almond shipments*, Australia, in mt

Destination

2023

2024

Diff.

China

16,485

33,805

105.1%

Australia

10,099

10,187

0.9%

India

9,493

8,343

-12.1%

Turkey

5,290

3,891

-26.4%

Spain

7,058

2,473

-65.0%

Vietnam

3,844

2,421

-37.0%

Germany

1,181

1,783

51.0%

UAE

1,042

1,488

42.8%

Netherlands

850

856

0.7%

USA

2,127

276

-87.0%

Others

3,639

5,467

50.2%

Total

61,108

70,990

16.2%

Almond Board of Australia; Mar-Jul

*shelled and unshelled

Almond boom is over

According to the latest report from the Almond Board of Australia, the development of new acreages is stagnating somewhat after the industry experienced a kind of cultivation boom for ten years. Higher production costs and lower yields meant that fewer than average trees were planted in 2023/2024, which has only been the case in three years since 2014. Around 22 million almond trees are currently cultivated on 64,192 ha in Australia, of which 27,989 ha are of the Nonpareil variety and 14,514 ha are of the Carmel variety. In 2023, 58,579 ha were classified as high-yielding. At 56%, more than half of the cultivation area is located in the Sunraysia region in the Australian state of Victoria, while the second-largest cultivation region, accounting for 24% of the acreage, is located in New South Wales in the Riverina region. It is still too early to make a forecast for the 2025 almond crop, as the trees are still at an early stage of development. This year's crop is estimated to be 164,700 mt. 

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