As walnut supplies rise, marketers evaluate demand ByChristine Souza
Research has shown that consumers are more likely tomake apurchase after a rec- ommendation by someone they follow online, an influencer.” Thewalnut boardandcommissionalso invest in research tohelp farmers improve production practices, and to learn more about the health benefits of walnuts.
CALIFORNIA PUSH-PULL, INC. PUSH-PULL PULL ONLY CLUTCH & BRAKE CABLES CONTROL HEADS twist lock Jennifer Williams, CWB/CWCmarket- ing director for domestic advertising, said studies showup to 20%of U.S. restaurants closedin2020due toCOVID-19, andmany more continue to struggle. Another trend, she said, “is the move to e-commerce, as consumers were hes- itant to leave their homes—and now that they’ve tried it, many consumers indicate Despite food-service closures due to the pandemic, walnut marketers say they foresee rising demand to accommodate anticipated larger crops. “Over the past 10 years, the California walnut crophas grown significantly, from 460,000 tons to today’s estimated crop of 780,000 tons,” said Pamela Graviet, California Walnut Board/California Walnut Commission senior marketing director, during the virtual California Walnut Conference last week. “This growth has been driven by extensive plantings that have been taking place over the last seven years.” California’s walnut sector took a hit in sales from restaurant and other food-ser- vice closures due to COVID-19, but retail sales of walnuts increased, Graviet said during a “State of the Walnut Industry” presentation by CWB/CWC staff. “It shouldbenosurprise thatCOVIDhas impacted all markets around the globe, but retail has been a bright spot,” she said. “Sales of walnuts were strong initially due totheirhealthbenefits, longer shelf lifeand multiple uses. However, food service has been impacted with shutdowns, stay-at- home orders and limited tourism.”
FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTION HERBICIDE EC FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTION HERBICIDE EC HERBICIDE EC ® ® SUPPRESS ® Herbicide EC is a broad spectrum contact herbicide for post-emergent, non-selective weed control for all food and non-food crops. • Excellent tool in in organic and IPM programs • Helps break chemical resistance • Zero pre-harvest interval (PHI) • Safe for pollinators and beneficials • Non-volatile, emulsifiable concentrate • OMRI and WSDA listed for certified organic crop production. Win the War on Weeds! Provides fast burndown! However, on Jan. 1, 2020, she said shelled walnut shipments to Japan were able to enter tariff-free. “We’rehopeful that thenewadministra- tionwill continue topush forward for tariff relief,” she said. Marketers saidwalnut consumption re- mains strong, as people look to the nut for a variety of health attributes. Foodmanu- facturers are now reformulating to meet new customer demands, Williams said, and chefs, menu developers and restau- rantownersareretoolingmenus toprovide optionswithhealthier ingredientsor items with specific health benefits. “ I t i s t he j ob o f t he Ca l i f o rn i a Walnut Board and California Walnut Commission to build awareness with consumers, health professionals, food service, food manufacturers and chefs all around the world to drive demand for California walnuts,” Williams said, add- ing that the organizations have worked to promote walnuts as a snack. Regarding the use of social media, she said, “It’s an inexpensive way to reach hundreds of thousands of people. Joshua Rahm, CWB/CWC director of technical and regulatory affairs, said the walnut sector has invested in research that combines long-andshort-termsolutionsto advanceprofitabilityandcompetitiveness. “Postharvest research is about main- taining and improving our position as the top-quality producer of walnuts world- wide, with the highest level of food safety, quality and technical standards,” Rahm said. “This includes conducting research programs that are going to help ascertain ways of increasing shelf life, enhance food safety, quality and compliance, and ulti- mately enabling best-harvest practices.” During the conference, plant breeders announcedreleaseof anewwalnut variety named theUCWolfskill, developedby the CaliforniaWalnut BoardandUniversityof California, Davis. The newwalnut variety, bredbyUCDavis researchers in2003 from a cross of Chandler and Solano varieties, canbeharvested earlier and improvehar- vest efficiency. “The release of UC Wolfskill gives California walnut growers like me a new, early-maturingvarietywhichshows great- er resistance towalnutblight, coupledwith potentially superior kernel quality froma vigorous, high-yielding cultivar,” walnut grower DavinNorene said. “TheCWB-fundedWalnutImprovement Program is vital to California growers in maintaining our competitive advantage of producing the safest, highest-quality walnutsontheworldmarket,”Norenesaid. (Chr i s t ine Souza i s an ass i s tant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.) they will continue using the convenience of e-commerceafter thepandemic isover.” Williams added that healthy snacking and plant-based eating are on the rise, describingwalnuts as “perfectly poised to take advantage of these trends.” She said that offers “tremendous room for growth, not just here in theU.S., but acrossmanyof our exportmarkets.” Domestic walnut shipments have increased 14% in the last 10 years, Graviet said. Global walnut production has been growingat a rapid rate, andhas caused the global supplyofwalnuts togrowfaster than demand, she said. The U.S. remains the main contributor to global walnut trade, Graviet said, but bothChileandChinahave increased their exports asproduction in thosenationshas expanded. Germany remains the No. 1 export customer for U.S. walnuts, and she said the Turkishmarket “continues to of- fer opportunitydespite the10%retaliatory tariff that is still in place.” Graviet said tariffs continue to af- fect several California walnut markets. A new UC Wolfskill walnut variety, developed by the California Walnut Board and University of California, Davis, promises attributes including an earlier harvest window.
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6 Ag Alert January 27, 2021
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