Fewer oversize pecans than last year

The South African pecan nut industry is seeing, at this early stage of the season, fewer oversize nuts than in 2016, but is still getting good sizes - 80% or more between large and oversize. Between 78% and 90% of pecan nuts (depending on various producers) are exported in shell to China where demand is still insatiable and the larger the nuts, the better. 

“At the moment they might be forced to take some smaller nuts than they ideally want because of a shortage in the market,” one exporter tells FreshPlaza. 

Last year was a particularly good year. “Last year about 60% of the nuts were oversize, really a gift from above, an exceptional year. This year it appears about 38 or 40% are oversize, but we’ve only received around 25 or 30t so far,” says Rapie Visser of the Bester Group in Hartswater, Northern Cape, ground zero of South African pecan production, where its Vaalharts processing plant is situated.

Rikus Maritz of Pecans South Africa, also in Hartswater, doesn’t foresee that size will provide any major marketing problems for the industry. He notes that while there might be fewer oversize nuts, the vast majority still fall in the large to oversize range, with a very small percentage of nuts falling into the smaller categories. 

Because of fewer oversize pecan nuts, those prices might rise and the industry is growing at a brisk clip, with demand for trees outstripping supply. It is estimated that 490,000 pecan trees were sold last year, but it is difficult to know the exact commercial acreage for the crop as many growers have small pieces of land under pecans sold at roadside stalls or food markets.

Good rains have meant that trees are bearing heavier crops, resulting in smaller nuts. Nuts too small for the export market, are mostly shelled and halved for the local market where it is one of the more expensive but very popular nuts. 

The pecan nut industry is growing at around 30% a year, according to some estimates, but it is still a distant third in world production behind the USA and Mexico. It is thought that South Africa contributes about 3 to 4% of world pecan nut production. South African nuts have the advantage that they arrive fresh on the Chinese market, a factor that carries weight with Chinese nut importers. According to the South African Pecan Nut Producers Association 10,900t were produced last year. Industry figures show a steady increase in production year-on-year.

Since 2016, export standards have been in place for the pecan nut industry so that now nuts-in-shell are inspected by the Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB). The industry in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries are currently working on export standards for shelled nuts.

The main cultivars are the established North American ones like Wichita and Choctaw. The nuts are just starting to come in but at the end of next month, the harvest will be in full swing.

The ideal moisture content is 3.5% and this time of the year it takes anything from a week to a month for nuts to dry out to this level. At some pecan packhouses volumes are still too low to employ nut driers.

For more information:

Rapie Visser

Tel: +27 87 170 0414

Email: rapie.visser@bester.co.za

Rikus Maritz

Tel: +27 53 474 0061

Email: osa001@mweb.co.za

André Coetzee

Tel: +27 870 2900

Email: andrecoetzee@hortgro.co.za