Bill Morecraft
Senior Vice President
December shipments for the California almond industry came in at a record 256.9 million lbs, nearly 25% greater than the previous record of 206 million lbs set last year. U.S. shipments were up 5.6% and 3.2 million lbs. Shipments to China were up 17.2 million lbs, India volume increased by 15.3 million lbs, and shipments to the EU were up 11 million lbs.
Year-To-Date, industry shipments are up 22.1% and 232.5 million lbs over last year in the first 5 months of the reporting year. There are strong increases in each major geography, except the Middle East, where California should see more business as we approach the buying season for Ramadan.
Notably, YTD shipments to China and India make up more than 60% of the gains so far this year. As activity in those markets seasonally taper, the pace of growth is likely to moderate…[Read More]