Nuts are the richest horticultural category, and international trade in these products is the most valued of all fruit product groups. This was stated by Andriy Yarmak, economist at the Investment Center of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), during the unique international conference “Ukraine Dried Fruits 2022: Experience Exchanges with Georgia”, held last November 19 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Yarmak noted that the world trade in nuts in 2021 reached $32 billion. “Ukraine is one of the world’s leading exporters of nuts, and Georgia is one of the world’s largest consumers of nuts per capita. In Georgia, walnuts are used in many traditional dishes.”
“Moreover, nut production in Georgia has been growing lately at a breakneck pace thanks to the most modern technologies. In Ukraine, hazelnut trees have led among evergreens in planting new orchards in recent years, and Georgia is one of the largest exporters of hazelnuts on the planet. Therefore, both countries can learn a lot from each other, which is the reason for organizing this Ukrainian conference in Georgia.”
Yarmak pointed out that, in analyzing the world nut market, we should take into account not only walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios, but also those nuts that have long been a niche in our region and those that are not nuts in the botanical sense but are referred to as nuts from the consumer’s point of view. In particular, peanuts should be included in the analysis of the nut market; they are the main competitor to other nuts in supermarkets and in various snack foods.
The FAO Investment Center economist noted that the share of cashews in world trade was larger than that of almonds until recently. These two nuts account for about 40% of all world trade, while the share of walnuts is only 11%, and that of hazelnuts, 8%. On the other hand, the share of pistachios is about the same as that of walnuts, although pistachio sales are much lower. The reason is that pistachios are the most expensive nut.
In addition, peanut sales are growing by 14% annually: it is the fastest growing category in international trade at present. Among other nuts, the growth in popularity of kola nuts (up 10% per year in international trade) and areca nuts (up 9% per year) is noteworthy.
Source: Fresh Plaza (2022)