Export growth narrows California almond shipment gap to last year

Blue Diamond Growers‘ July Almond Market Update, based on the June Position Report from the Almond Board of California, reported California almond shipments totaled 213 million pounds in June, a 14% increase from a year earlier, as export demand continued to outpace domestic sales and tighten available supplies ahead of harvest.

According to Blue Diamond’s analysis of the Almond Board position report, export shipments reached 163.3 million pounds during June, up 20.6% from the same month last year. Crop-year exports now total 1.88 billion pounds, 3% ahead of last season. Domestic shipments declined 3.1% during the month to 49.7 million pounds, leaving crop-year domestic shipments at 542 million pounds, down 12.7%.

The report said total industry shipments through June reached 2.43 billion pounds, narrowing the gap with last year’s pace to less than 1%.

It reported several export regions continued to support demand. Europe is up 6% for the crop year, while Southeast Asia posted 27% growth. Middle East shipments increased 2%, led by Turkey, where shipments rose 42% to nearly 146 million pounds. India remains below last year’s pace but continues to be closely watched as buyers balance higher replacement costs and prepare for Diwali demand.

According to the market update, total industry commitments reached 368.5 million pounds, 17.9% ahead of last year. New current crop sales totaled 143.2 million pounds during June, while uncommitted inventory declined 17.8% to 328.2 million pounds.

Blue Diamond also revised its July estimate for the 2026 California almond crop to 2.67 billion pounds, with a projected range of 2.65 billion to 2.70 billion pounds. Harvest is expected to begin in mid- to late July.

In its market outlook, Blue Diamond said tightening current crop inventories, strong export demand and a crop expected to be near 2.70 billion pounds continue to support a firm market heading into the new crop season, barring a significantly larger harvest or a decline in global demand.

View the entire Position Report from the Almond Board of California here.