News

We here at Turlock Walnut are ready and excited for this year’s crop. We are very excited about the fact that we’ve broken ground on our new facility as evidenced by all the earth movers I hear working in the background as I formulate this letter! Yes, there’s a whole lotta shaking going on which means we continue our quest to update, grow and better serve YOU our growers. Speaking of growing, it’s because of that growth we are happy to welcome the addition of Tony Romo, Operations Manager, who has a strong background in nut processing as well as finance. Maribel Rocha, is a new team player that’ll be another strong cog in the Turlock Walnut wheel to administer and process all the needed procedures in our offices. Turlock Walnut reps will be contacting you regarding the timing of your harvests so we can plan the logistics of picking up your walnuts from the hullers. If you ever have any questions regarding your weights, grades, or anything else please contact our office. Thank you for your continued business and we look forward to another great walnut season! Harvesting Hint: Collect a sample of at least 100 nuts at harvest for each block and freeze them. Compare them after harvest with the grade sheet to evaluate different potential sources of damage and how to improve your IPM program for next year.  

July 2017 Walnut Shipment Report Update

• July 2017 shipments were 23,337 in-shell equivalent tons. For the month of July 2017 shipments decreased by 12,659 tons (-35%) compared to July 2016.
• September 1st, 2016 to July 31st, 2017 in-shell equivalent tons shipped are 665,106 tons. Compared to the same period last season (September 1st, 2015 to July 31st, 2016) this represents an increase of 76,654 tons (+13%)
• In-shell shipments for July 2017 were 388,000 pounds, a decrease of 615,000 pounds (-61%) compared to July 2016.
• Season to date in-shell shipments (September 1st, 2016 – July 31st, 2017) are 390 million pounds, an increase of 95.4 million pounds (+32%) compared to the same period in the 2015/2016 Marketing Year.
• Shelled shipments for July 2017 were 20.4 million pounds, a decrease of 10.4 million pounds (-34%) compared to July 2016.
• Season to date shelled shipments (September 1st, 2016 – July 31st, 2017) are 413.5 million pounds, an increase of 30.7 million pounds (+8%) compared to the same period in the 2015/2016 Marketing Year.

California Walnut Inventory (Inshell Tons) Carry-in from 2015 Crop Year: 65,170

• 2016 Walnut Receipts: 680,190
• Total Inventory: 745,360
• Shipments through July 31st 665,106
• Remaining Inventory: 80,254

Upcoming Events

• September 12 & 13 California Walnuts Annual Fall Meeting Rancho Cordova Marriott Hotel
• October 27 South Valley Nut Conference Tulare County Fairgrounds November
• 3 Mid Valley Nut Conference Modesto Jr. College Ag Pavilion
• November 7 Tree and Vine Expo Stanislaus County Fairgrounds

Walnut Shipments by Region September 1st – April 30th, 2017:

Shelled:

• North America is up 1.6 million pounds or .88%
• Europe is up 14 million pounds or 16.31%
• Asia/Pacific Rim is up 9.3 million pounds or 11.42%
• Middle East/Africa is up 4.6 million pounds or 16.38% 
• In-shell:
• North America is down 1.3 million pounds or -7%
• Europe is up 22.5 million pounds or 31.17%
• Middle East/Africa is up 50 million pounds or 45.85%
• Asia/Pacific Rim is up 20.6 million pounds or 22.08%

Countries with big increases/decreases in imports September 1st – July 31st, 2017:

• USA shelled up 5.3 million pounds or 3.19%
• Canada shelled down 3.6 million pounds or -19.92%
• Germany shelled up 9.4 million pounds or 24.26%
• Italy shelled up 918 thousand pounds or 27.07%
• Spain shelled up 2.6 million pounds or 13.67%
• UK shelled up 2.1 million pounds or 25.6%
• Israel shelled up 1.25 million pounds or 12.86%
• Japan shelled up 3 million pounds or 9.95%
• Korea shelled up 4.4 million pounds or 19.33%
• Germany in-shell up 1 million pounds or 7.96%
• Italy in-shell up 17.7 million pounds or 49.65%
• Spain in-shell up 2.4 million pounds or 11.89%
• Lebanon in-shell up 1.6 million pounds or 116.67%
• Morocco in-shell up 2.8 million pounds or 88.57%
• Turkey in-shell up 29.7 million pounds or 33.7%
• UAE in-shell up 13.6 million pounds or 131.92%
• China in-shell down 1 million pounds or -12.78%
• Hong Kong in-shell down 6.4 million pounds or -16.45%
• India in-shell up 22.4 million pounds or 244.75%
• Vietnam in-shell up 7.7 million pounds or 23.23%

Market Recap

April 2017-July 2017 have seen decreased shipping numbers compared to last crop year. Buyers are reporting that US handlers are mostly sold out so these shipping numbers seem a little odd. If we get an August shipping report of 20,000 tons that will leave the carryover at 60,000 tons which will decrease carry over by about 5,000 tons from last crop year. This is positive news for the walnut industry in that we were able to move last year’s record crop! Reports from buyers are that inventories overseas are down coming into the new crop year. The dollar has softened over the past 8 months, India is chomping at the bit to buy California walnuts, and short supply from US handlers has lead to an uptick in walnut prices. Let’s all hope the walnut quality is good for the 2017 harvest.