Ag Alert. March 8, 2023

Pistachio growers hopeful about potential record crop

pistachio crop still would not rival state almond production, which has reached more than 3 billion pounds. The price of almonds has plummeted in recent years, making the nut unprofitable to grow for many farmers. Pistachio prices have held, Hundal pointed out. From September 2022 to January 2023, overall pistachio shipments jumped 1.9% year over year, Matoian said. Though do- mestic shipments dropped by 2.4%, ex- ports rose 3.9%. These numbers are pos- itive, he said, “especially when you think about other commodities and difficulties

and troubles they’ve had.” It helps that current worldwide pis- tachio production is off by about 10%. Production in Iran—the world’s No. 2 producer and the U.S.’s main competi- tor—has become “more erratic” in recent years, Matoian noted. Like California, the Middle Eastern nation has been plagued by drought, causing it to lose 20,000 to 40,000 acres a year, he said. With Chinese tariffs on U.S. pista- chios, Iran—which does not have tariffs

By Ching Lee Considering the waning profitability of almonds and walnuts, pistachio growers are upbeat about prospects for the state’s current “it” crop. More rainfall this season has eased the multiyear drought, with improved water allocations for farms. The colder winter has also provided adequate chill- ing hours for pistachio trees to produce flowers and fruit. With more pistachio trees coming online this year, growers appear on pace to produce a record crop that could top 1.2 billion pounds, accord- ing to Richard Matoian, president of the American Pistachio Growers. “On the surface, the outlook appears to be positive,” he said, though he warned “a lot can happen and has happened in the past between what we believe and where we end up.” At the association’s annual conference in Carlsbad last week, Matoian shared his thoughts on the state of the industry, highlighting what helps growers sleep at night and what keeps them up. On the rosy side, there’s less inven- tory this year due to the lighter crop in 2022, when production hit more than 878,000 pounds. 2022 was con- sidered an “off” year in the trees’ alter- nate-bearing cycle and was preceded by two previous bountiful crops, yields of which reached more than 1 billion pounds. The record 2021 crop produced more than 1.15 billion pounds. After two years of port congestion that led to delayed and stranded shipments of agricultural exports, Matoian noted those problems have largely been resolved. The quality of U.S. pistachios remains a “ma- jor selling point worldwide,” he said, as are the nut’s health benefits. Pistachio marketers continue to make inroads with consumers, who have become more fa- miliar with the nut, he added. But challenges remain on the trade front. Retaliatory tariffs in China from the Trump-era trade war remain, elevating the price of U.S. pistachios. The strong dollar has added to the pain, making the product even more expensive. The po- tential for a worldwide recession could further wreck sales, Matoian said. Even though port traffic has improved, not all shipping issues have gone away, Matoian said. Any number of supply chain problems could strain the avail- ability of pesticides, fertilizers and other materials, hurting pistachio production and sales. The U.S. remains the world’s top pista- chio producer, a title it has held for more than a decade. About 99% of the crop is grown in California, with 2023 bearing acres at just fewer than 454,000. Total state acreage stands at about 590,000, including 135,000 nonbearing acres. Even with the potential for a record crop this year, Bikram Hundal, a pista- chio grower and handler with orchards in Tulare, Kings and Madera counties, said he is not worried about finding markets

for the nut—provided shipping problems don’t return. “That was the one factor that really jeopardized the overall sales for all the tree nuts,” said Hundal, who also grows and processes almonds. Should growers produce more than 1 billion pounds this year, he said, the

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March 8, 2023 Ag Alert 3