April was a good month for walnut shipments from California. During April total shipments were 62,361 tons, an increase of 34% compared to last year’s. At the moment we see that the processors are trying to sell all their remaining stock because the temperatures are rising and they do not want to pay too much storage costs.
The availability of the chandlers variety and high percentage halves is still very limited in the USA and on the Spot. Therefore, when you can find something and need it, it remains still our strong recommendation to cover your nearby needs. On the other grades we do not see any big problems. In the USA there is enough to ship and on the Spot there is also enough stock.
The situation in Eastern- Europe didn’t change much the last two weeks. It remains very difficult for Eastern – Europe packers due to the limited availability of raw materials and limited good quality materials. In addition, the prices for raw material are still extremely high. Therefore it is very hard for suppliers to compete with the US and Chile.
