Last month the USDA’s Economic Research Service published the “Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook:

March 2022” containing summaries of past crop seasons and predictions of upcoming crops and possible outcomes of various different tree crops. 

 

Among those crops reported in the Outlook is the pecan crop in North America. The major take away is the expected reduction in the crop produced this past season, and likely the driver behind increasing pecan prices both on the farm and on the shelves. As we move into spring on the farm we can see the pecan trees putting on catkins and beginning to flower, while in the warehouses we see a pecan crop that is dwindling fast as buyer orders go out the doors. 

 

The Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook: March 2022 shows Georgia as the top producer in the 2020-21 season however these numbers will no longer be available from the NASS as the report has been suspended for the 2022 season moving forward. The NASS Pecan Production Report offered preliminary acreage, yield, and production estimates, and has been discontinued for 2022 moving forward. 

 

The 2020-21 season pecan production in the US hit 152.7 million pounds shelled or 305.4 million pounds converted to in-shell up 13% from the previous year. Pecan prices declined from $1.84 in 2019 to $1.43 per pound in 2020 according the report. The 2021-22 season has seen a price increase on the farm due to the smaller crop available and the decreasing inventories. 

 

According to the report imports from Mexico “are down 26 percent in October 2021 to January 2022 compared with the same period the previous season.” and the exports to China have also fallen dramatically. 

 

Check out the full report on all tree nuts and other tree crops at the link below. Pecan information begins on page 22 of the report.