Australian almond growers will achieve a farmgate revenue in excess of $1bn by 2020, according to the industry’s Almond Insights report. July was already a record-breaking month for sales and exports, and a 75 percent rise in exports this June was recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The value of product leaving Australian orchards for the 2015 crop is predicted to reach $800m. Of that, $600m is expected to come from exports, Ross Skinner of the Almond Board of Australia, said.
Exports more than doubled since 2009/10 in 2015, reaching 49,751 tonnes. “The planned orchard expansion across the industry will increase global productive capacity by around 1% per annum for the next few years. The past growth indicates the market will readily absorb this,” Mr Skinner added.
The consistent record crops, which also occurred in May and June, have attracted significant attention from overseas investors, who are not deterred by access to water challenges. “Orchard purchases are occurring in all areas of the Riverland, Sunraysia and the Riverina. Investment is by individual growers and companies from Australia and overseas,” Mr Skinner said.
The burgeoning almond industry will provide economic stimulus to growers in the Murray Valley community where they are enduring low returns on other crops, such as wine grapes, according to him.
It was also announced yesterday that the Canada’s Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board has purchased two almond growing properties, based in Riverdale, Victoria, off the Macquarie Group. The properties are in the Sunraysia region, in Victoria’s North-West, and went for $115m."It certainly seems like the investors, either current producers or other investors, are having no difficulties in finding the funds to buy water and land,” Mr Skinner said.
Water rights can be purchased on a permanent or an annual basis, and are a big factor in determining offer price, he confirmed. “The interest from Northern America in Australian almond orchards has been triggered by the drought in California and the wish to diversify production regions.”
Australia exports almonds to 55 different countries, across regions, with South Central Asia, Southern Europe, Western Europe, the United States and the Middle East rounding out the top 5.
Because almonds are traded in US dollars, the fall in the value of the Australian Dollar had a significant positive impact on market price, according to Mr Skinner.
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