Almonds Market - April Position Report

The April Position Report from the California Almond Board shows shipments of 249.91 million pounds, up 37.9% from last April.

• This is the eighth record shipment month in the 2020/21 crop year, out of nine so far.
• Year-to-date, industry shipments have increased by 19.64 percent.
• The massive shipment number was made up of another record shipment month for the export market, but the domestic market remained slow, down 9.8% from April last year. In reality, while export markets are up nearly 2 percent year-to-date, the domestic market is only up around 2%.
• The number of commitments has increased by 45 percent.
• In April, net new sales totalled 162 million pounds, up from 125 million pounds the previous month. It's worth noting that sales were hampered at this time last year by global lockdowns and the disruption created by COVID 19.
• The industry is now 85 percent sold out of complete supply for 2020/21. The majority of packers are reporting low NP inventories, and the gap between NP and pollinators has widened.
• Although it was anticipated that the number of shipments would be high, few expected the industry to reach almost 250 million pounds. With logistical problems resurfacing following March's changes, there were some doubts about California's ability to improve by 30% over April of last year.
• This figure is just what California needed to report, and it will ensure that the current crop demand remains stable. Growers are likely to demand at least a $0.05 per pound increase over pre-position report rates, but whether that is realistic will be determined by the amount in tomorrow's Subjective Estimate.