The weather has impacted the Portuguese almonds negatively this year, causing lower production, says Nuno Russo, executive director of the Portugal Nuts association: "Almond orchards will experience productivity declines compared to 2024, falling short of the potential anticipated for the new orchards. This decrease is largely because of an adverse weather phenomenon, affecting the entire territory of mainland Portugal, which brought heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and strong to very strong winds during flowering, harming pollination and causing the drop of flowers and fruits, as well as trees and branches. The adverse conditions also delayed phytosanitary treatments and are expected to result in significant losses in the most affected farms. In the case of walnuts, the campaign is estimated to be normal to good, with an increase in production."
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Acreage for both almonds and walnuts has grown over the past years, Russo emphasizes. "The recent production of national almond and walnut crops reinforces the trend of sustained growth in the nut sector in Portugal. The area dedicated to almond cultivation has doubled in the last decade, now covering over 73,000 ha. Walnut orchards occupy more than 5,700 ha, and the total area devoted to tree nuts exceeds 110,000 ha, an increase of 54% in ten years. Portugal is emerging as one of the main producers of nuts in Europe, especially almonds and walnuts. The nut sector in Portugal has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade."
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For Portugal, almonds remain the most exported nut, Russo states: "Almonds have seen impressive growth in recent years, reaching a total volume of €100.24 million for the first time, representing an increase of 68.6% (+€40.77M) compared to 2023. In terms of quantity, exports rose from 31.31 thousand tons in 2023 to 37.25 thousand tons in 2024, a growth of 19% (+5.94 thousand tons). The export of shelled almonds grew more significantly, reflecting a higher valuation of the product in the international market."
Walnuts did not lag behind, though, as this segment has also seen a strong increase, according to Russo. "Walnuts also showed very positive growth, reaching €2.2 million in 2024, an increase of 27.84% (+€0.48M) compared to 2023. In terms of quantity, exports decreased, with no impact on overall performance due to the higher value of production."
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Russo states that he expects demand to increase even further, as people look for healthy foods: "With a self-sufficiency rate of about 140% and a positive trade balance of €76.4M, our country is already the second largest producer of almonds in Europe. The global demand for nuts continues to expand, and the world market keeps growing, driven by new trends in nutrition and healthy consumption, balanced diets, and the preference for natural foods of sustainable origin. With the reputation of our products increasing, associated with quality, taste, and Iberian and Mediterranean origin, the growth potential continues to be enormous."
This means that the Portuguese nut sector needs to grow with it, but this has to be done in the right way, Russo says. "The challenge is to continue growing, with economic balance of the farms and industry, reducing costs, strengthening production organization and cooperation among producers, focusing on national processing, creating scale, and investing in own brands, adding and exporting value, and establishing Portugal as a European benchmark in quality and competitiveness."
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"Although the nut sector is still emerging and consolidating in Portugal, we are confident in the future of the nut sector in Portugal, as, regardless of the challenges inherent in the current context, we believe in national production and industry, as well as in the potential of the nut supply chain," Russo concludes.
For more information:
Nuno Russo
Portugal Nuts
[email protected]
www.portugalnuts.pt
