Oct 18, 2023Blue Diamond Almond releases Oct. 18 update
Blue Diamond Almond Growers provided a market update on Oct. 18, 2023, which indicated the during September, almond shipments were within expectations at 217.7 million pounds. This figure is 2.7% higher than last month, and higher overall compared to last year.
Additionally, Blue Diamond indicated that domestic shipments came in at 62.8 million pounds, an increase of 21.5% compared to last year. The updated also noted that overall, “year-to-date shipments after two months are 3.1% ahead of last year’s pace, a positive and welcome start to the season.”
PERSPECTIVE
Laura Gerhard, vice president for Blue Diamond, shared a market perspective in the latest update:
“The September position report fell within industry expectations as shipments remain ahead of last year’s pace. Markets are steady with buyers mainly staying mostly hand-to-mouth. Activity waned into the final week of the month with many Asian markets on holiday. Price discovery continues to be challenging with sellers pausing to better understand crop quality and buyers waiting for price stabilization. Demand is expected to pick up in the coming weeks with buyers needing to get product moving to ensure on-time arrival for the upcoming holiday seasons.
COMMITMENTS
According to the update, the total commitments remain ahead of last year by 1.2%, at 674 million pounds. Additionally, the uncommitted inventory sits at 309 million pounds, which is down 56.6% from last year.
“This is indicative of the fact that the harvest continues to lag last year’s pace. New sales for the month came in at 269.9 million pounds with exports making up 73% of that number. This is 12.4% higher compared to last season,” the updated noted.
CROP RECEIPTS
Crop receipts for the year total 625.4 million pounds as of this latest update and the harvest is still behind last year’s pace. “The industry pushed to get the crop in with sporadic showers throughout the month of September challenging harvest activities and continues to closely monitor crop yield and quality. Both insect damage and moisture are a threat to reduce salable supply. There is a growing urgency to bring the crop in as quickly as possible. The more prolonged harvest becomes, the greater the risk to quality as the days grow shorter bringing cooler temperatures and increased humidity,” Blue Diamond market update described.
The full report is available at bluediamondgrowers.com.
