South African Pecan Nuts Market Report, August 2022

Date: 9th August 2022 Category: Latest News
South African Pecan Nuts Market Report, August 2022

The South African pecan crop is harvested between June to august each year. It is during July when the majority of the crop arrives. Pecans are produced throughout South Africa, preferring regions with a very hot summer and a very cold winter and a plentiful supply of water.

The majority of pecans produce at the following locations.

  1. Jan Kempdorp/ Hartswater (about 100 km north of Kimberly ) – 53%

  2. Modder river regions (about 100 km south of Kimberly) – 11%

  3. The orange river region (raisin country covering a distance of 500 km from one end to the other) – 8%

  4. Kwa Zulu Natal, Eastern cape, north West – 28%

According to the statistics published by the south Africa Pecan producers (SAPPA), as at 31 July 2022, 24 693 MT of pecan NIS had been delivered to the collectors/packers in South Africa from the 2022 crop. This is a record pecan crop for South Africa. The crop is now well to reaching the 27 000 MT predicted. Many farmers are now saying that the crop could go as high as 30 000 MT.

The quality is good, although farmers see the following difference from earlier crops with smaller volumes.

  1. There are more medium and large size nuts than historic crops with lower volumes. In these crops, there were mainly oversize and extra large pecans.

  2. The nut fill is mainly around 55%, whereas in more minor crops, the majority was closer to 60% kernel fill.

The market for the 2022 Pecan crop

China remains the strongest buyer for pecan nut in shells from South Africa. The more significant volumes available have resulted in greater price stability for the farmers. In previous crops, the demand and limited supply caused farmgate prices to be volatile, lifting towards the end of the season. That has not happened so far in 2022. it is unlikely to happen as we see the end of buying the crop.

Of the quality bought, we expect 300mt will be better suited to export to China due to the large size and high sound kernel ratio.

A polished pecan nut in the shell with even sizing is a very attractive product.

 

 

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