By: Chilenut
The Chilean walnut harvest has ended and there is a lot of important information and news to share.
2022 Walnut Crop
The estimated size of the current crop is over 170,000 tons, and this figure is very much in line with the initial estimation from Chilenut. Regarding quality, the main parameters have kept within normal standards and although it is still early, preliminary information shows the following results:
- In terms of color, 66% of the crop is extra light and 27% is light, amounting to a total of 93% in these two ranges. This is higher than last season which was 91% with a small difference in terms of the distribution between both colors.
- For sizes, 18% are 30/32, 34% are 32/34, 28% are 34/36 and 11% are 36+; this amounts to a total of 91% of the crop that is size 30 or more, compared to 93% the last season.
- In terms of yield, the reported average is 50.1%; this represents a slight increase compared to the last three seasons in which the average was 49.5%.
Rain Effect
There was some fear that the rain experienced at the end of the harvest period, between 20 to 30 mm of rainfall measured in the main production areas, could affect the quality, but the information shows that only 15% of the walnuts were harvested post-rain. Within the walnuts harvested after the rain, the affected product was about 25%, which amounts to 3.75% of the full crop, or less than 7,000 tons.
Logistic Situation
Although freight prices have gone up steeply, space availability up until the end of May has shown no issues, and shipments are being fulfilled with no restrictions, in contrast to last season when shipments were stalled with many weeks of delays.