U.S. pistachio production is expected to fall by half in the 2015/2016 crop year, causing the global crop to contract by 86,000 tonnes to 529,000 tonnes, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service reported.
The U.S. pistachio crop is in an off-year cycle of its alternate-bearing harvest, where trees produce a greater-than-average crop one year, and a lower one the next. Warmer winter weather and the California drought also cut yields. The Turkish crop expanded but not enough to make up for the U.S. decline, FAS said.
Meanwhile, global almond production is expected to rise 22,000 tonnes from the previous year to 1.1 million tonnes due to increased output in the United States, where production rose 14,000 tonnes to 862,000 on increased acreage.
Walnut production is estimated to rise 155,000 tonnes from the previous year to 2 million tonnes, with China and the United States accounting for more than 75 percent of total output. China output is up 100,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes primarily on higher bearing area. Production in the United States is rising 30,000 tonnes to a record 547,000 tonnes on higher acreage and more robust yields, the FAS said.