| United States Department of Agriculture |
| Foreign Agricultural Service |
| Circular Series FHORT 11-99 |
| November 1999 |
Trade and U.S. Export
Opportunities
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World
Horticultural Trade and U.S. Export Opportunities |
U.S. almond exports for marketing year 1999/2000 are forecast at a record 208,200 tons, 13 percent above 1998/99 exports. Export value is also expected to be up, but not proportional to the volume increase, due to lower almond prices. A larger California crop and lower export prices are contributing to the record forecast. Following the trend of the three past years, in which U.S. grower prices have fallen 33 percent, almond prices are likely to remain depressed, due to significant production increases in all major producing countries, large reserves, and increasing acreage. Moreover, anticipation of large crops and record supplies for all tree nuts in most major producing countries is keeping all nut prices low, due to the relative ease with which one nut can be substituted for another. Low nut prices are expected to encourage consumption and expand export demand. Germany, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom remain the largest European markets for almonds; Japan and India are the largest Asian markets for almonds.
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