California Almond Industry in Numbers
Production
California is, far and away, the world’s leading almond-growing region. The San Joaquin Valley, running down the center of the state, boasts hot dry summers, cool rainy winters, fertile soil and plenty of sunshine —ideal growing conditions for almonds. The most common variety planted in California is Nonpareil, accounting for 39% of the total, followed by Monterey (18%), Independence (12%), Butte/Padre (10%), Wood Colony (4%), Aldrich (4%) and Carmel (4%) (Figure 1).
Figure 1. California Almond Varieties*
* By incoming receipts. Source: Almond Board of California (2022). 2022 Almond Almanac, https://www.almonds.com/about-us/annual-publications, and sources quoted therein.
Almond farming in California[1] dates back to 1853. The first varieties planted in the state were of European origin. These varieties did not fare especially well, as they were poorly adapted to the local climatic conditions and farmers were unaware of the need for cross-pollination. In the 1880s, the development of local varieties —including Nonpareil, which remains dominant today— led to greater productivity and profitability. Irrigation and mechanical harvesting techniques were introduced in the first half of the 20th century. The period between 1964 and 1985 saw a major expansion of almond production, with the total planted area reaching more than 162,000 hectares. This boom was a result of more sophisticated product development, improved agronomic practices and global marketing, plus an increase in the irrigated area. Since the mid-1990s, the California almond industry has undergone another period of expansion. By 2022, the nut-bearing planted area had reached 554,431 hectares (Table 1).
Table 1. California Almond Planted Area, Bearing
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2022 California Almond Objective Measurement Report, https://www.almonds.com/sites/default/files/2022-07/2022_ObjectiveReport.pdf (accessed March 29, 2023).
Almonds are the state’s most important crop in terms of planted area, as well as its leading agricultural export. Most of the planted area is concentrated in the San Joaquin Valley (Figure 2), which stretches 800 km from south to north. California has 7,600 almond growers, 90% of which are family-owned and nearly 70% of which farm less than 40 hectares. California is home to 98 almond handlers/processors, many of which are also family-owned. Sixty-three of these handlers process less than 11,000 MT per year, while six process more than 45,000 MT.[2]
Figure 2. Major Almond-Growing Regions in California
Source: Land IQ, in cooperation with the Almond Board of California, 2022 Standing Acreage – Final Estimate, November 15, 2022. https://www.almonds.com/sites/default/files/2022-11/2022%20Final%20Land%20IQ%20%26%20ABC%20Acreage%20and%20Removal%20Estimate.pdf (accessed March 28, 2023).
California consistently produces nearly 80% of the world’s almond supply. After following an upward trend for the previous decade, production peaked in 2020/21 at 1,386,200 MT before dipping slightly in subsequent years (Figure 3).
Figure 3. World Almond Production, Kernel Basis, Metric Tons
Trade
Besides being the world’s top producer of almonds, the USA is also the leading exporter. According to data from the Almond Board of California, over the past five seasons (2017/18 to 2021/22), annual US almond export shipments averaged 780,619 MT (kernel basis), the main market being Western Europe (Figure 4).[3] The countries of Western Europe together imported an average of 282,912 MT of shelled almonds annually, accounting for nearly half of US shelled almond exports over the past five years. Spain was the single biggest destination for kernel exports, accounting for an average of 16% of US exports, followed by Germany (10%). Northeast Asia was another key market, with shipments of shelled almonds averaging 102,646 MT per year. In this region, the biggest markets were Japan, which accounted for 7% of US exports, on average, followed by China/Hong Kong and South Korea with 5% each. As for in-shell almonds, from 2017/18 to 2021/22, annual US exports averaged 180,486 MT (kernel basis). The biggest market is India, which accounted for 69% of US in-shell almond exports over the past five seasons.[4]
Figure 4. US Almond Export Shipments by Region and Top 20 Destinations (Metric Tons, Kernel Basis, Average 2017/18-2021/22)
Source: Almond Board of California (2022). 2022 Almond Almanac, https://www.almonds.com/about-us/annual-publications.
Consumption
The United States is the top destination for California almonds, accounting for 29% of all shipments in 2021/22.[5] Domestic consumption trended upward between 2011/12 and 2020/21, when it peaked at 375,060 MT before dipping slightly to 324,760 MT in 2021/22 (Figure 5). Per capita consumption has followed a similar trend, reaching a high of 1.13 kg per person in 2021/22.
Figure 5. Domestic Almond Consumption in USA, Total (Metric Tons) and Per Capita (kg), Shelled Basis
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Fruit and Tree Nuts Yearbook Tables, https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/fruit-and-tree-nuts-data/fruit-and-tree-nuts-yearbook-tables/ (accessed March 30, 2023).
[1] Geisseler, D. and Horwath, W.R. (2016). Almond Production in California. California Department of Food and Agriculture Fertilizer Research and Education Program, https://apps1.cdfa.ca.gov/FertilizerResearch/docs/Almond_Production_CA.pdf
[2] Almond Board of California (2022). 2022 Almond Almanac, https://www.almonds.com/about-us/annual-publications
[3] Almond Board of California (2022). 2022 Almond Almanac, https://www.almonds.com/about-us/annual-publications
[4] Almond Board of California, Almond Industry Position Reports, July 2018, July 2019, July 2020, July 2021, July 2022. Year-to-date shipments August 1 through July 31.
[5] Almond Board of California (2022). 2022 Almond Almanac, https://www.almonds.com/about-us/annual-publications