Patrick Roger, a Parisian chocolate maker, has bought 32 ha of almond groves to avoid losing French almonds and their unique flavour. He says that “we have never found a Spanish or Californian almond that is at the same level as the French ones”.
The 5 varieties grown in France and developed by Inra are “lighter (in colour) and more crunchy than the Californian ones,” says Hervé Bertelt, Director of the cooperative Sud Amandes, which collects 80% of national production.
The problem is that French production is hard to come by. Production does not go over 700 tons of unshelled almonds for a demand that easily reaches 20,000-25,000 tons. California (produces over 700,000 tons) and Spain supply the French market.
Fruit growers have always had a few almond trees at the back of their orchards, but specialised almond growers are rare. This is why Patirck Roger bought his groves, which will be enough to harvest 30-60 tons per year.
“We need people like Patrick Roger to stimulate the sector, producers need recognition to be motivated” says Hervé Bartelt, who blames agri-food industrials for favouring foreign almonds.
French almonds are sold shelled for €9/kilo on average, so are no longer as expensive as before. Drought in California and international demand has made the prices soar 70% in 2 years to €6.80/kilo. Fruit growers are starting to plant almond trees again, “40 ha per year, that is already something” concludes Hervé Bartelt.