Holiday season boosts almond & walnut crops
California almonds and walnuts are products that traditionally get a boost, as they are used in many holiday foods, and fourth-quarter sales are typically the heaviest, said Chad Temel, who markets the nuts for Stockton-based Pearl Crop. He estimated the company ships 55 to 60 percent of its crop during the last three months of the year.
Because the company exports more than 95 percent of its nuts, Temel said the holiday rush usually starts as soon as the crop is harvested to allow for shipping time—and because the nuts often need to be further processed, packaged or used in different forms once they arrive at their overseas destinations. He noted export markets buy mostly in-shell nuts and prefer to do their own shelling.
The California Walnut Board began its advertising campaign with heavy emphasis on holiday baking in early November and ran it right up until Christmas, said Jennifer Olmstead, the board's director of marketing and domestic public relations.
"November, December is a very traditional time of year to use walnuts, particularly for holiday baking," she said. "We have really embraced that with a lot of our outreach efforts."
Although shelled walnuts still make up the bulk of the domestic market, consumption of in-shell walnuts remains a popular tradition during the holidays, Olmstead noted. Walnut sales don't necessarily slow down after the holidays, she added, as more nuts are moved to replenish markets.
source: agalert.com
