In a normal year I would have referred to this as the “June Drop”, however June has come and gone and very little of our crop has yet to drop. Currently most of the crop is still holding on. The June drop tends to be more significant in Desirable variety, however, when we have a good nut set we tend to see other varieties shed nuts as well. 

 

July and August still presents an opportunity for pecan trees to shed nuts as a self thinning mechanism but will ultimately produce better quality nuts of the ones that remain on the tree. Lack of adequate water will also cause nuts to shed this time of year, especially during times of extreme heat and drought like we are currently experiencing. 

 

Currently we have a very good pecan crop in the southeast and nuts are sizing well. While the ‘June drop” is late this year I would expect we will see more nuts shedding in the next 30-60 days, and then we will be able to better assess this year’s crop. 

 

Currently, handler inventory is low and demand for pecans is only expected to increase over the next few years as the APPB marketing budget is expected to significantly higher with the new assessment on domestic and imported pecans. 

 

Domestic deliveries have fallen from last year’s highs, however we have also had a lull in marketing efforts as the industry switched from the APC to the APPB for the larger portion of marketing funds available. Now that the APPB is up and running, marketing efforts will resume with increased funding. 

 

Even while deliveries are down, the inventories are also significantly lower, as the last three years have seen record breaking domestic demand, with each year surpassing the prior year until this current season. With fewer pecans in inventory a larger crop is needed in order to keep pecan supply chains flowing without interruption.