nut trade Archives

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Chestnut – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

China remains an unrivaled leader in global chestnut consumption with a share of 81% of the total market. Chestnuts are widely used there in cooking, roasted with sugar, or for processing. The vast majority of chestnuts in China are produced domestically. Italy acts as the major importer of chestnuts worldwide, while Turkey, Portugal and France feature the highest pace of import growth.

Consumption by Country

China (1.9M tonnes) remains the largest chestnut-consuming country worldwide, accounting for 81% of total volume. The majority of chestnuts in the country are sourced domestically – China also features as a top global chestnut producer. The volume of consumption in China exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest consumer, Bolivia (89K tonnes), more than tenfold. The third position in this ranking was occupied by Turkey (61K tonnes), with a 2.7% share.

In China, chestnut consumption expanded at an average annual rate of +1.2% over the period from 2012-2020. In the other countries, the average annual rates were as follows: Bolivia (+5.2% per year) and Turkey (+1.9% per year).

In value terms, China ($4B) led the market, alone. The second position in the ranking was occupied by Bolivia ($259M). It was followed by Turkey.

Imports by Country

In 2020, the volume of chestnuts imported worldwide dropped to 93K tonnes, with a decrease of -13.9% against the previous year. In value terms, chestnut imports contracted to $250M (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

Italy was the largest importing country with an import of about 24K tonnes, which resulted at 26% of total imports. France (7.7K tonnes) occupied an 8.3% share (based on tonnes) of total imports, which put it in second place, followed by Switzerland (5.9%) and Thailand (5.1%). Taiwan (Chinese) (3.8K tonnes), China (3.5K tonnes), Germany (3.5K tonnes), Turkey (3.2K tonnes), Spain (3K tonnes), the U.S. (2.8K tonnes), South Korea (2.6K tonnes), Austria (2.4K tonnes) and Portugal (2.2K tonnes) held a minor share of total imports.

Imports into Italy increased at an average annual rate of +4.1% from 2012 to 2020. At the same time, Turkey (+44.8%), Portugal (+7.8%), France (+6.4%), Germany (+4.5%), South Korea (+3.3%), Spain (+2.6%) and Taiwan (Chinese) (+1.3%) displayed positive paces of growth.

In value terms, Italy ($64M) constitutes the largest market for imported chestnuts worldwide, comprising 26% of global imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by Germany ($18M), with a 7.1% share of global imports. It was followed by Switzerland, with a 6.3% share.

Source: IndexBox Platform

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘U.S. – Pistachios – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

In 2021, production of pistachios in the U.S. will break previous years’ records thanks to large yields and an increase in the bearing average. This will enable an expansion of exports, primarily to the EU and China, and retaining stable prices on the domestic market. Heading into 2022, the U.S. will strengthen its position in the global market as its closest competitor, Iran, faces a lower yield that will cause it to deplete its pistachio reserves.

Key Trends and Insights

The U.S. expects a record harvest of pistachios in 2021. The USDA forecasts that production will grow from 352K to 454K tonnes of in-shell nuts, which is equivalent to 230K tonnes of shelled produce. According to the Administrative Committee for Pistachios (ACP), the average yield per acre in 2020 gained by 30% y-o-y, bearing acreage increased by 21.6K acres. A large harvest should keep prices stable on the domestic market.

Exports from the U.S. are expected to rise by 40% in 2021. The EU and China are expected to be the primary markets for American pistachios, despite the cloudy trade relations with the latter. With a global market share of 33%, China will remain the largest importer of pistachios.

The U.S. will continue to hold its position as the global leader in pistachio production with a slight lead over Iran, the second-largest producer. Unlike in the U.S., Iran forecasts a decline in yield in 2021, but the country will retain its level of exports due to supplies from last year’s reserves. As Iran depletes its reserves, the U.S. is expected to strengthen its position in the global export market in 2022 and seal its status as the leading global provider.

The increase in demand for pistachios will be mainly driven by the growth in the global population. During the pandemic, retail sales of pistachios have been declining amidst a fall in real income as people rejected expensive and non-essential food. This larger trend is the primary factor hindering growth in the market. As quarantine measures are being gradually lifted, the HoReCa segment will begin to recover, boosting demand in the B2B sector and expanding the pistachio market.

U.S. Pistachio Production

In 2020, production of pistachios in the U.S. was estimated at 352K tonnes, increasing by 4.9% in 2019. Over the period under review, production posted perceptible growth. Pistachio production peaked at 448K tonnes in 2018; however, from 2019 to 2020, production remained at a lower figure. Pistachio output in the U.S. indicated a temperate increase, largely conditioned by a pronounced expansion of the harvested area and a perceptible curtailment in yield figures. In value terms, pistachio production expanded notably to $2.9B in 2020.

U.S. Pistachio Exports

In 2020, overseas shipments of pistachios decreased by -22.7% to 178K tonnes for the first time since 2015, thus ending a four-year rising trend. In value terms, pistachio exports shrank dramatically to $1.5B in 2020. In general, exports, however, recorded a prominent increase over the last decade.

China (46K tonnes), Germany (25K tonnes) and Belgium (22K tonnes) were the main destinations of pistachio exports from the U.S., together comprising 52% of total exports. These countries were followed by Hong Kong SAR, Spain, Viet Nam, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Italy, the UK, France and Israel, which together accounted for a further 33%.

The average pistachio export price in the U.S. stood at $8,325 per tonne in 2020, with an increase of 3% against the previous year. Over the last eight-year period, it increased at an average annual rate of +2.6%. Average prices varied somewhat for the major overseas markets. In 2020, the countries with the highest prices were Spain ($9,350 per tonne) and Italy ($9,279 per tonne), while the average prices for exports to Viet Nam ($7,267 per tonne) and China ($7,615 per tonne) were amongst the lowest.