August 6, 2015

Although Arizona’s 2015 pistachio crop looks to be on pace to equal last year’s harvest, early indications are that California’s crop will be significantly down from last year.

Pistachio growers are citing a combination of a shortage of chilling hours, poor water availability, and poor water quality for the expected low output this year, which could be down by 70%.

Although not a universal problem across all orchards, many appear to be affected by small nut size and erratic maturity, which could prolong the harvest and force growers to re-shake trees more than once, according to Jim Zion, managing partner with Meridian Growers in Fresno, California.

In spite of the poor outlook for this year’s crop, the pistachio industry has enjoyed years of growth and positive marketing trends, with returns to pistachio growers being some of the highest among almonds, walnuts, and pistachios. Membership in the American Pistachio Growers (APG) has increased 79% from 2008, its marketing budget has increased from 31% in 2008 to 80% today, and total exports to APG target markets have increased 700% since 2003, while domestic consumption is up 16%.

Growers caution however, that it is still early to judge this year’s crop, and that crop size and quality will be better assessed once harvest has begun in September.