California walnut harvest down by nearly a third

The fall walnut harvest in California was 28-30% below the record set in 2023, with the actual harvest coming in between 580 thousand and 600 thousand tons, significantly lower than the initial forecast of 670 thousand tons. The cause of this decrease is believed to be due to cold and heat affecting pollination, and there has also been a surge of walnut trees being uprooted due to economic losses, leading to a rise in production prices. Despite these challenges, demand for walnuts in the United States remains strong, with a third of the production being sold domestically and the rest being exported.

The fall walnut harvest in California was harvested quickly, but was 28-30% below the record 824 thousand tons from 2023, said the representative of the Carriere family farms Bill Carriere, quoted by the electronic publication FreshPlaza. According to Carriere, this is a significant drop for the state, which produces about 30% of the world's walnuts. In September, the forecast for the California walnut harvest predicted a drop to 670 thousand tons. "Initially, we did not believe that production would decrease so significantly. However, a few weeks after the harvest, we realized that it would be even smaller than the studies predicted," said the representative of the family farms. According to his data, the final result is between 580 thousand and 600 thousand tons. The reasons for the drastically reduced harvest remain unclear for now, but the industry suspects that it is a consequence of the combination of cold and heat, which affected pollination. In addition, in recent years, ...