EXECUTIVE REPORT
PETER HAYES Chair
The past year has continued to feature some of the most challenging conditions the industry has faced since emerging as one of the world ’ s major almond producers .
Global prices remain low as demand eased and supply was not viewed as an issue for buyers . First world consumers who had driven increasing consumption rates tightened their belt as cost of living pressures tightened and retailers refused to pass on the lower prices . The conundrum for almond growers and marketers is traditionally in times of low prices and high volumes , consumption increases as almonds become more affordable to a broader base . Unfortunately , this scenario has been stymied by supermarkets in many parts of the world as they maintain the same shelf price set when almond prices were stronger and making extra margin .
The 2022-23 season had its moments .
Exports exceeded 100,000 tonnes for the first time and the industry posted a record crop of just over 140,000 tonnes ( kwe ).
Sales to China were the star of the show , but domestic sales dropped for the first time in many years on the back of the profiteering described above .
The Australian-China Free Trade Agreement was the key element in growers preserving a better than break even return .
Late in the year , the Federal Government announced that a new trade agreement with India had been signed off , giving almonds a 50 % reduction on import duties for both inshell and kernel . This resulted in renewed interest and increased volumes across the first six months of 2023 and eased the industry ’ s reliance on China for inshell sales .
The ABA marketing program had long established a diversification strategy and the new trading conditions in India helped crystalise a more versatile marketing push . Almost 50 countries across the world purchased Australian almonds during the year with increased interest in the Middle East and manufacturing hubs like Turkiye and Spain .
The milestone moment of the year came on June 2022 when news came through that varroa destructor had been discovered in Newcastle , NSW . The almond industry , along with 22 other affected industries as well as all state and federal biosecurity agencies joined forces as signatories of the Emergency Plant Pest Emergency Response Deed to attempt to eradicate the mite .
Varroa mite is a destructive pest that had already wiped out the wild colonies of European honey bees in the rest of the world . After years of remaining varroa free , Australian biosecurity officials were faced with their biggest biosecurity national response .
The timing of the detection could not have been worse for the almond industry , which was a month out from moving beehives
TIM JACKSON Chief Executive Officer
from across Australia onto orchards for the annual August pollination . Biosecurity agencies flagged their concerns with beehives from NSW being moved only weeks after varroa had been discovered then subsequently locked their borders to NSW bees . It left SA and Victoria without enough hives to adequately stock their orchards for pollination . The weather during August was wet and cold . Bee flight hours were minimal and that all combined to produce the worst pollination season in memory .
Six months and a very mild summer later , the 2023 harvest proved to be one of the worst on record , down 30 % on pre-harvest estimates .
If varroa had not been enough , many growing regions had to manage unprecedented rainfall during the growing season , flooding , and a wet harvest .
Low prices , ongoing elevated costs of production and a small crop left the industry re-jigging our forecasts . The original tonnage projection was set at 165,000 tonnes , but this was reduced to 156,000 tonnes in January and then further revised in May and June before finishing up at 108,950 tonnes .
The highlight of the year was the Almond Board Conference at the Adelaide Convention Centre . Record numbers flocked to the two-day event which showcased a range of high-quality speakers including acknowledged global industry experts David Doll and Patrick Brown . They received a rock star welcome from growers as they stepped through ways to maximise returns with less .
The ABA ’ s Almond Centre of Excellence Experimental Orchard at Loxton continued to emerge as a highly regarded industry resource for a range of research projects . Ongoing work on higher density plantings , rootstock suitability , modified tree architecture and ag-tech innovations were showcased on-site as the lifting of State borders and covid restrictions saw a return to field days and company-specific inspections . The vision of the former CEO Ross Skinner in establishing the facility will have long lasting benefits for the industry as ongoing research projects explore new and more efficient ways of growing almonds . The year also marked the beginning of talks with Hort Innovation around a new funding model for the ACE Orchard . The support of the Hort Innovation executive and staff to help strike a model that could be replicated by other industries seeking to create such a facility was is greatly appreciated by the industry .
Formalising the industry ’ s sustainability credentials has also continued to come into sharper focus over the past year . A portal that encourages the adoption of best management practices that acknowledge requirement of sustainable parameters was established and content continues to be developed .
Issues like irrigation efficiency , zero waste , greenhouse gas emissions , chemical use , pollination security and effectiveness , soil health and establishment of closed circle industry economies with independent verifiable measures is the basis of a new portal that aims to provide growers with a benchmarking tool that makes them more profitable while addressing any social or environmental vulnerabilities . More broadly , this initiative shall strongly support our advocacy and promotional issues and opportunities in relation to consumer expectations and our ‘ social license ’.
There is no quick fix , but our journey so far has highlighted that our industry boasts a lot of initiatives that can be considered well advanced on traditional perceptions around growing practises .
The bottom line is that there is a collective understanding that farmers understand the importance of sustainability and the benefits of always exploring new ways to do things better .
The ABA role in this journey will be one of support and facilitation . Our industry development team have started work on an industryspecific portal to assist growers and processors meet the emerging expectations of those further down the supply chain . It will also assist the ABA in educating the public on just how sustainable a new-age almond farmer has become .
The ABA ’ s close working relationship with Hort Innovation Australia remains a critical plank in the organisation ’ s ability to deliver a targetted range of high-priority services and research projects to meet the needs of our growing industry .
Another major initiative during 2022-23 was the ABA launching its own independent spatial mapping project with renowned California organisation , LandIQ . As result of detailed mapping across the continent we have been able to accurately capture our industry footprint , the age of our orchards and will in time extrapolate this out on a range of other metrics . These outcomes help guide future projects and provide industry stakeholders with the most accurate planting data in Australia horticulture . The work of Joel Kimmelshue and his LandIQ team has added a new dimension to the ABA resources toolkit . The data revealed that the industry had doubled in size since 2016 to 62,424 hectares . The industry was only 3500 hectares in 2000 .
In times where new markets need to be developed and research on doing things more sustainably has never been more important , the ABA remains focused on collaborating with industry to ensure grower levies are used to maximise results addressing these core purposes .
Increasing the membership base of the board will involve educating new and existing members of the benefits of signing up . Ground-floor access to driving relevant research , being involved in industry-wide bench marking and advocacy work are among the benefits that bring value well beyond the nominal taxdeductible membership fee being charged .
We believe that the ABA continues to be a pacesetter in Australian horticulture and while challenges continue to arise , the industry ’ s unique ability to collaborate and foster an inclusive environment based on the notion that a rising tide lifts all boats continues to underpin a prosperous future for Australian almonds .
Independent Chairman ’ s Postscript :
The exceptionally challenging conditions regarding the weather over our last season , the global market and the biosecurity problems around the Varroa have been unprecedented .
This , in turn has imposed substantial additional pressures upon our ABA executive management team and staff .
I am very pleased to note that our CEO , Tim Jackson and his team have risen to the occasion and continue to deliver much to both our Almond industry and to the wider horticultural and agricultural industries via their representation , prepared submissions and advocacy at state and federal level and within bodies such as the Varroa National Management Group , NFF and NIC .
4 2022 / 23 ABA ANNUAL REPORT