California is the world’s largest producer of the nut, contributing 80% of the globe’s almond supply in 2020. Almonds raked in around $5 billion for California’s farmers in 2021. However, Californian almonds have likely not escaped injury from the recent deluge, despite a single nut needing 1 to 3 gallons of water to grow. Farmers instead warn the upcoming harvest might not produce enough nuts to meet demand.
Michael Easterbrook, managing director of nut price indexing company Stratamarkets estimates that almond wholesale prices went up 25 to 50 percent in late February, after the first spate of storms hit California. He says prices have leveled in recent weeks, but attributes the bulk price hike to the extreme weather.
Easterbrook is talking about the bulk wholesale price for almonds—not the retail price for, say, a bag of nuts or a carton of almond milk at the grocery store. Instead, almond retail prices may fluctuate based on numerous factors, including regional pressures or inflation.
Source: sfstandard.com