Valcárcel, who is also a member of ALMENDRAVE, the sector's exporting union, said that these data can be extrapolated to Spain as a whole, so the forecast of 45,986 tonnes for 2016 made by the National Bureau of Nuts in late June "could actually be revised down to 40 or 42,000."
According to these projections, the total production in 2015 stood at 52,313 tonnes, of which 13,330 tonnes corresponded to Andalusia (-21.23% expected for 2016); 12,848 to Aragon (+16.46%); 7,662 to Castile-La Mancha (-57.87%); 6,139 to Murcia (-5.21%) and another 6,000 to Valencia (-26.67%).
A better distribution of water
"The sooner this year is over, the better," said Valcarcel. He was "cautious and rated the campaign as average." The season, in fact, has been marked by drought and subsequent frost at the time of the fruit setting, and he further stated that "we need better policies for water distribution at the national level."
The Committee of the California Almond (Almond Board of California) closed the latest season, which finished on 31 July, with the marketing of 1,811 million pounds (822,190,000 kilos) of product.
Spain, the largest purchaser of California almonds
According to its latest monthly report, 67% of this volume was shipped to about 90 countries, of which Spain was the most important destination, with 201.10 million pounds (91.29 million kilos) of almonds in shell bought, which was 31% more than in the 2014/15 campaign.
For Valcárcel, as well as for the secretary of the Almond Market in Murcia, Manuel Brescané, California has been the supplier mainly responsible for the lower price of the Spanish product.
Brescané explained that the price of standard almonds in the Almond Market of Murcia on 3 September stood at 5.67 Euro/kg for batches of 8,000-10,000 tonnes of almonds in shell.
A year ago (3 September 2015), its price reached 8.76 Euro/kg, compared to 5.97 Euro/kg in 2014 (4 September), 6.06 Euro/kg in 2013 (29 August), 3.91 Euro/kg in 2012 (30 August) and 2.97 Euro/kg in 2011 (1 September).
The general coordinator of the Spanish Association of Almond Hullers (Descalmendra), José Luis Balanzá, explained that the end of California's four-year drought and the increase in the number of hectares devoted to this crop have brought prices back to normal levels.
Great confidence in the future
Balanzá has announced that soon three new almond hulling facilities will open in Spain (there are currently 56), and others already in operation have increased their capacity, because there is "great confidence in the future" of the sector.
The fact is that a production "boom" is expected in 2018, when many new hectares, planted with almond trees with innovative late-flowering varieties, both irrigated and rainfed, in areas of Castile-La Mancha, Seville, Cordoba and Aragon, will start bearing fruit.
"In seven years, we expect the production of Spanish almonds to double," stated Balanzá, who also foresees a great future for organic production due to its good acceptance in the international markets.