Spain's pistachio production grew by 20.5% in the 2023/24 season compared to the previous one, and by 65.8% compared to the average of the last 5 years, and the fact that 61.4% of the unirrigated area and 66.53% of the irrigated area (with higher yields) has not yet come into production shows the increase that is still expected in the coming years in the more than 79,000 hectares of pistachio plantations.
This year, in particular, the production has been lower in terms of volume because, due to the phenomenon of the "vecería", it has been an off year in terms of production and the prospect is that the volume will fall considerably," says Javier Moreno, Manager of Mister Pistacho. "For its part, the United States has also produced less pistachio than expected, so they are apparently prioritizing the supply to clients with whom they have already signed contracts, rather than exporting to new clients, and this is causing an increase in prices at source and a great deal of price speculation in the market."
The United States is the main source of pistachio imports in the EU-27; in fact, it supplied almost 96% of the almost 110,000 tons of pistachio imported into the EU market last season, with the demand increasing by 36% compared to the previous year.
"The situation in the pistachio sector is very good and prices are only boosting the interest in the crop, especially this year, when the lower production has caused them to rise. Currently, the average prices of conventional pistachio of the Kerman, Sirora, Lost Hill or Golden Hill types amount to around 10 €/kilo in kernels, and between 5.7 and 6.7 €/kilo for the open and cleaned, depending on the size. The Larnaka in kernels reaches an average price of 13 €/kilo," says Moreno.
"As for the organic production, prices amount to 10.8 €/kilo for the Kerman, Sirora, Lost Hill or Golden Hill in kernels, and 14 €/kilo for Larnaka type pistachio kernels."
"As far as the kernels are concerned," says Javier Moreno, "it should be noted that the price has risen by around 2.5 euros/kilo compared to last year due to the high demand in the food industry. Pistachios are trendy and an increasingly popular ingredient for ice cream, sweets, cakes, etc., and they are also consumed as snacks."
It is worth noting that the price per kilo of unprocessed pistachios amounts to 2.2 and 2.6 euros, respectively, for the conventional and organic.
"At nursery level, there's clearly a remarkable interest in growing pistachio, especially this year, when the rains have cleared up the doubts caused by the drought and have encouraged many growers to make new investments. In my case, at Mister Pistacho, we have not only had more demand than usual, but we have actually sold our entire production of pistachio plants," says Moreno.
"Prices at the moment and this season's forecast are very positive for the growers, as are the sector's projections. Thus, since we want to be able to meet all the demand we expect to have, we are already working on the production of seedlings for next season," he says.
For more information:
Mister Pistacho
Camino de Hontanilla, 1
45360. Villarrubia de Santiago, Toledo, Spain
Tel.: +34 667 35 90 48
[email protected]
https://misterpistacho.es