Walnuts refers to the edible seed of the walnut tree which typically reaches its peak production level after about 30 years. Raw, toasted, candied or pickled, walnuts are part of a wide range of recipes, and they can be used as an ingredient of a dish or eaten on their own.

 

This market research includes major growers, huller/ dryers, processors, traders, equipment suppliers and major retailers in California.

 

China is the larger producer in the World, the United-States comes second, and together they account for more than two thirds of the global production. California produces nearly all the U.S walnut crop and about a third of the production is sold abroad. The main recipients were the European Union, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Japan. Total exports have steadily increased over the past years despite trade disputes with China and Turkey.

 

Demand for walnuts has been growing due to the perceived health benefits of walnuts and U.S consumers perceive walnuts as “nutritious, natural, good as a snack and convenient to eat”. To face the growing demand, the bearing acreage increased by more than 40% in the last 10 years and San Joaquin is the leading county in terms of production, followed by Butte Recently, growers have started to increase the acreage devoted to organic walnuts to keep pace with the growing demand for organic and natural products.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic may turn out to be a driving force for the walnut market in California. Surveys showed that U.S consumers became accustomed to eating snacks at home and this trend may stick as remote working becomes more common. According to a recent survey, more than 40% of Californians worked remotely full-time during the pandemic and out of these, two thirds want to keep working from home. As a result, online grocery shopping has become more common and the trend benefited grocery delivery services like Instacart or Amazon fresh as well as smaller businesses like Good Eggs or Farmstead.

 

However, the industry faces a wide range of challenges including the competition from other nuts and the rising cost of labor due to new legislature passed by the State of California.