Almonds: Australia's exports lag behind
Mundus-Agri: Australia's almond exports in July fell short of the same month last year, but still achieved an above-average result. A new feature of the Almond Board of Australia's latest report is the addition of domestic shipments.
Australia includes domestic shipments.
The Almond Board of Australia has recently added domestic demand to its monthly export report. This provides a better overview of actual consumption. According to the latest data, domestic shipments in July were 2,002 mt of shelled and unshelled almonds, 9% behind the figure for the same month last year (2,205 mt). In total, domestic demand between March and July amounted to 10,244 mt, about 5% less than this time last year. Exports in July totaled 13,565 mt, almost 2,000 mt less than in July 2021 but still one of the best export results in recent years. A total of 38,391 mt of shelled and unshelled almonds were exported from Australia, a good 3,000 mt less than in the same period last year. The main customer for Australian almonds remains China with almost 20,000 mt this season, which is an increase of 23% compared to the same period last year. Shipments to Spain (+65%) and Turkey (+56%) also increased significantly. India manages to hold on to third place in the rankings, although shipments there have halved. Countries such as Germany and Vietnam have also imported far fewer almonds from Australia this season than in the 2021/2022 season.
In total, 48,653 mt of shelled and unshelled almonds have been shipped domestically and internationally since the start of this season in March, compared to 52,313 mt in the first five months of the 2021/2022 season.
New crop determines prices
The US almond market, however, started the 2022/2023 export season with a new record in August and market players are satisfied. Prices have been largely stable for a long time, and further development now depends above all on how good the crop volume and quality actually turn out compared to expectations.
In the European spot market, there were some price corrections this week. While the price for the Carmel, SSR, 23/25 variety remained unchanged, Nonpareil, Extra no 1, 23/25 gained about EUR 0.20/kg compared to last week. Spanish Valencia almonds are also slightly more expensive than last week, while other Spanish almond varieties have also increased in recent weeks.