Last night the monthly shipment report for the month of May was released by the California walnut board. Total shipments in May were ahead of May last year by roughly 20%. Although this is a solid figure, did the May shipments not rise as much as the shipment figures during last month, when April 2021 shipments turned out to be roughly 40% higher than the shipment figures of April last year. Nevertheless, it seems California is still heading towards a workable carryover, keeping the market firm for both spot as forward positions. The availability of halves remains to be tight, both in origin as for spot positions in Europe. This is reflected in pricing, which seems to increase further on a consistent bases. Our recommendation remains to be covered for the coming months, as no relief is expected from California, neither from alternative origins such as China and Eastern-Europe of which the new crop is still a few months away.
