Almonds are oval-shaped edible nuts that grow on almond trees, these are mostly planted in Mediterranean climates where they usually bear a profitable crop after three years.

 

Shelled, blanched, unshelled, or organic, almonds’ taste and price can vary a lot depending on various factors, including tree variety. The major varieties of the California almond industry are Butte, Carmel, Monterey, Nonpareil, Padre and Mission.

 

Although almonds can be used as an ingredient in cosmetics, its main use by far remains culinary. Raw or toasted, various dishes and desserts features almonds as a secondary or central ingredient, almonds are also commonly added to breakfast oatmeal or muesli.

 

This market research includes Growers, Hullers / Shellers, Handlers and Manufacturers.

 

The demand for almonds has been growing fast, driven by the positive perception of almond by consumers as a high-nutrient ingredient and the health benefit that arises from its regular consumption. Almonds are increasingly used as a healthy snack, benefiting from a growing base of Millennials and health-centric consumers adopting healthier lifestyle and snacking habits. Additionally, almond milk consumption has been increasing rapidly and dominates the milk-substitute market, it surpassed soy milk in 2013 and is still registering the faster growth rate among plant-based milk.

 

Over the past 10 years, the surface dedicated to almonds has been growing to reach a whooping 1.24 million bearing acres in 2020, an increase of about 54,8% compared to 2010 Today, California produces more than 80% of the production of almonds in the United-States and 62% of the production was exported outside of the United-States in 2019. The main recipients were the European Union, India and China, despite trade issue with China which has levied a 50% tariff on almonds from the US in 2018.

 

The almond industry in California has weathered the covid-crisis despite several issues.  Record crop of almonds were harvested in 2020 with a 18% increase compared to 2019 but the increase in supply contributed to an average price decrease of 30% from the prior year.

 

Among the latest trends, mechanization has increased as a way of reducing cost for producers and hullers /shellers while organic almonds are slowly gaining ground even if many farmers are still waiting to make the jump. In 2021, only about 1% of almond acreage in the state was organic. The leading counties in terms of organic harvested acreage were Fresno, Merced, Tulare and Madera.