Trade options for almonds have been moving in a positive direction recently. Retaliatory tariffs in India have been eliminated. Many of the supply chain disruptions related to COVID have largely been addressed. However, Aubrey Bettencourt, President and CEO of the Almond Alliance, said there is more to be done to expand opportunities for almonds.
“We’re really happy to see progress being made, and we’re hoping to leverage that into progress in other parts of the world, such as Turkey, which also has retaliatory tariffs in place. And so, we’re actively actually working now with the administration to pivot from the great work they’ve done in India,” said Bettencourt. “Let’s take that momentum to Turkey and do the exact same playbook and let’s get product moving.”
The Middle East as a whole is an important market for California almonds. Making further inroads could prove significantly beneficial for the industry. Bettencourt noted that it has been particularly difficult to get almonds out of California and into foreign markets. Port congestion and carrier practices have proved challenging for ag exporters. Conditions have improved somewhat, in part due to industry action.
“The evolution that the almond industry really pioneered was the idea of multi-modal, multi-port; utilizing rail, other trucking networks and nexuses and hubs to move product to other ports that had the sailings that we were looking for,” Bettencourt explained. “So, you still find a lot of almonds going out through Houston, or through Norfolk, through Savannah, in order to find the right shipping route into places like the Middle East, parts of Europe, and even India.”
Trade options for almonds will depend both on market access and the feasibility of getting product into foreign markets. Bettencourt said they are consistently engaging with partners like Orient Overseas Container Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company to continually work to optimize export opportunities. With improved logistics from two years ago, the next step is strengthening markets. “Industry is resilient and buckling down and trying to see through how we’re going to continue to utilize the fact that we can move product, but now we’ve got to sell product,” Bettencourt noted.
Brian German
Ag News Director / AgNet West