Thanks to a hardy crop, high prices, and lush international demand, the 2024 California pistachio season is ending resoundingly.
Farmers who harvested the crop from late August through November expect their returns to echo the $3 billion of 2023.
If realized, this value will strengthen the number one exporter position that the United States usurped from Iran in 2023.
Meanwhile, processors are sorting millions of the pale green nuts for shipment to China before the onset of the nut-happy Lunar New Year.
Rootstock Cements a 40-Year Vision
Before reaching this remarkable export boom stage, the California pistachio industry has spent time developing rootstock.
According to the American Pistachio Growers whose membership consists 800 growers, it has taken 40 years to realize the vision.
Growers began to expand the pistachio acreage from 2015 onwards, greening areas with low precipitation.
Key rootstock sources include Wonderful Co., whose samples produce 40% more fruits than the conventional.
The company’s orchards across the state produce a massive 20% of the total American pistachio harvest.
Such large-scale cultivation owes to the plant’s use of 25% less groundwater than other nuts and its sale at top dollar.
Export Vs. Local Demand
Indeed, top prices that touch $29.1 per kg at wholesale in countries like Australia due to strong demand illustrate the export thirst.
But the focus now for California’s growers is not Australia but the European Union, the UK and China.
China is strategic for it is not only the top world importer of pistachios but the second largest consumer, as of 2021.
All in all, China is but an international option for there is also the local market to consider first. Although the export market commands much market sway, the domestic market of nut snacks within California is noteworthy. The market is accessible through hometown groceries, family farm sales and online portals by orchard-operating companies.
In short, increasing production to meet international demand is expanding the pistachio sector on the West Coast. This is a natural expectation given that the state produces almost all of American pistachio supplies, as the data below shows.
United States and California Pistachio Statistics
The U.S. is the biggest exporter of pistachios worldwide, valued at $3 billion in 2023. Around 99% of the total crop in the U.S. comes from California. This owes to a large cultivated area boom since 2015, which had reached 428,000 acres in 2022. According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AGMRC), this acreage yielded 882 billion pounds of in-shell pistachios. 652 million pounds of these sold in markets in in-shell condition while the rest sold as shelled.
How has California fared in pistachio production in the past decade?
According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), pistachio production has nearly tripled in the 2013-23 decade. With output in 2013 at only 470 million pounds, by 2023 it had reached 1.49 billion pounds.
What is the U.S. portion of the world pistachio production?
U.S.’ pistachio production accounts for more than 51% of the global output, as of 2023, according to AGRMC. Only Türkiye and Iran come near, with Iran being the previous biggest exporter till the United States overtook it.
How do American pistachio import prices compare worldwide?
Because the U.S. is the leading exporter, its import price on the other hand tends to be quite steep. In 2022 for instance, it imported at $22,753 per ton, the 8th highest after Russia’s world-beating $43,000 a tonne.