Almond Market - The U.S. Holds the Global Almond Trade under Its Thumb

In 2013, the U.S. and Spain were the main global suppliers of almonds with a combined share of 76.2% of global exports. However, the fastest growing suppliers on the global almond market from 2007 to 2013 were Turkey (+36% per year) and China (+30% per year). Australia strengthened its position in the global export structure, from 2% in 2007 to 6% in 2013.

In 2013, China (14.1%), India (12.4%), Germany (10.9%) and Spain (9.1%) were the leading destinations of almond imports, together making up 46.5% of global imports. The share of China increased significantly (+10%), while the share of Germany illustrated negative dynamics (-4%). The shares of the other countries remained relatively stable throughout the analyzed period.

The U.S. is the undisputed leader in global almond production and trade. In 2013, the U.S. exported 36% of its total almond output. Of this amount, 11% was supplied to Spain. The robust almond industry there has been fueled by strong domestic and foreign demand, fertile soil, favorable climate conditions as well as established distribution channels concentrated in California.

With over 800,000 acres across a 400-mile stretch from northern Tehama County to southern Kern County devoted to almond harvesting, an astounding share of the world's almonds are produced in California.

The success of the U.S. almond industry has been driven primarily by exports, particularly to fast-growing consumer markets such as China and India. Further, and across the globe, the rapid growth of global almond consumption has been propelled by an increasingly health-conscious consumer market, steady growth in disposable income and a weak U.S. dollar.

However, farmers of the Golden State have recently had to face certain challenges, such as the expiration of almond acreage, growing competition from other global exporters, for example, Australia, and tightening water regulations. Water remains the gravest concern, as the thirsty almond used approximately 10 percent of California's extremely limited total water supply each year.

Last year, California faced one of its worst droughts on record. Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. declared a drought State of Emergency in January 2015. Unprecedented arid conditions are undoubtedly an enormous challenge for almond-growers, forcing farmers into using water sparingly, which is likely to result in a smaller harvest this year.

Do you want to know more about the global almond market? Get the latest trends and insight from our report. It includes a wide range of statistics on

• almond market share
• almond prices
• almond industry
• almond sales
• almond market forecast
• almond price forecast
• key almond producers

Source: World: Almonds - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2020