Australian almond sales continue at record pace after five months of the 2023-24 season.
Australian almond sales to China are down by 12%, but India is up 123% (5410 tonnes) for the same period. Demand for Australian low grade and manufacturing grade almonds remains a driving force in export data for the season with Spain (up 133%), Turkiye (up 253%) and California re-processors absorbing much larger volumes than last season.
Mr Jackson said that overall industry sales remained on record pace. Exports are up 39% and July was the fourth record month in five so far, up 22% on the same month last year.
Despite the 2023 crop being down 30%, processors continue to take advantage of the new Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) trading conditions to increase sales to India. Inshell sales to India are up by almost 3700 tonnes while kernel sales have increased by 2864 tonnes. The AI-ECTA’s 50% reduction in import duties is the driving force behind the increased sales.
ABA CEO Tim Jackson said the Australian almond industry was experiencing an immediate benefit from the new trade agreement. “We continue to liaise with our DFAT negotiators about the second round of negotiations on a complete FTA with India and obviously removing the tariff completely and eliminating the 34,000 tonne quota is our preferred outcome,” he said. “We remain a small player in a market where 160,000 tonnes of almonds are imported annually, but it remains a critical plank in our market diversification strategy.”