“Consumption of pistachios is growing significantly”

The Wonderful Company is satisfied with both the harvest and the consumption of pistachio nuts. “The harvest in California was enormous in late 2016. The volume was 900 million pounds, that is more than 400 million kilograms,” says Tom Hazelof of the Belgian department of The Wonderful Company.

Compared to 2015, the harvested volume had tripled. “Because of the larger amounts, prices dropped, and they are now at the level of previous years again. Because of this, consumers are buying more. It is truly remarkable how closely these are in relation to each other. A one per cent price rise practically immediately causes a one per cent increase in consumption, which is clearly a win-win situation. Especially in the US we noticed a considerably increasing consumption. This is in part thanks to the government. They are promoting a healthy lifestyle, which includes nuts. We are naturally also hoping for a larger consumption of pistachios in Europe. In the Netherlands, the consumption of pistachios is the lowest in all of Europe. Hopefully it will also increase there. Peanuts and cashew nuts, on the other hand, are often eaten. We are hoping that Dutch retailers will put the nuts in a more accessible spot, such as in the fresh produce department. In many European countries, nuts have already been placed in that department in supermarkets. It is the perfect place for nuts.”

For more information:

Tom Hazelof
The Wonderful Company
MC Square
Leonardo Da Vincilaan 19
1831 Diegem - Belgium
www.wonderful.com