California Walnut Market Update - Volumes have increased up to 20%!!

Latest News Update from the Walnut desk...

FEBRUARY SHIPMENTS:

On an inshell equivalent basis, February 2021 Walnut shipments were + 63,528 tonnes compared to 56,605 tonnes in February 2020, an increase of +10.9%!!

SEASON TO DATE SHIPMENTS:

So far this season, shipments for the 2020 crop year have increased by 12.2% to +463,670 tonnes, up from 412,088 tonnes at this time last year.

CROP:

As of December 31, 2020, receipts totalled +783,754 tonnes. The final crop total for the 2020 harvest will be this. The crop yield was estimated to be 780,000 tonnes. The crop estimate was very close to the mark.

EXPORT:

February 2021 shipments were up 20% over February 2020 shipments on an inshell equivalent!

MARKET:

Export shipments, especially inshell shipments to the Middle East, were strong this month. Given the ongoing global shipping problems, this is unexpected. With hundreds of vessels waiting their turn to offload and unload their cargoes, the west coast of the United States has been a challenge.

For several weeks, delays and vessel omissions have been the standard. It's hard to say how many containers were rolled into March and how many of the February shipments were expected to ship in January. We now know why the inshell market has been quiet for new sales lately.

There are a lot of containers on the way, and they'll be here soon. The costs in California have decreased. Even with minimal inventory, Jumbo Large Chandler has dropped .10/lb per pound in the last six weeks. The only option is for consumers to have inventory that has already arrived or will arrive soon.

In California, there is a limited availability of Chandler kernels.