While there are some who consider the problem to be specific to one growing region and climate, the team's travels have confirmed that there are challenges with the variety emerging further afield.
Alan Hoppe, ABA Chairperson and Tim Jackson, ABA CEO
Industry responds to Monterey challenges
THE Monterey leafing failure complex is being tackled on a number of fronts by industry. The ABA’s industry development officer Josh Fielke and NSW DPI’s award winning researcher Len Tesorerio continue to plot its progress and investigate potential causes. To fast-track the process the recruitment of a PhD student to investigate the issue has started following a Hort Innovation co-funded project being approved by industry. Josh and Len are also looking at potential chemicals that could be added to the grower toolkit that might help enhance the preventative measures growers can implement. Josh and the rest of the ABA industry development team have been on the road through February and March with a focus on the ongoing concerns around the performance of the Monterey variety. While there are some who consider the problem to be specific to one growing region and climate, the team’s travels have confirmed that there are challenges with the variety emerging further afield. The variety has been one of the success stories of the Australian industry and now represents well over 10% of plantings. The leafing failure will impact Monterey yields this year and potentially have crossover impacts on the Nonpareil crop.
Early receivals from processors suggest the 2025 crop size could come in lower than the pre-season harvest of 155,531 tonnes as crackouts struggle to meet long term averages. Predictions on the crop size have ranged from 135,000 to 155,000 tonnes, so there appears to be varying out-turns from orchards across the various districts. Many within the Riverina have already completed harvest, which is a much quicker finish than most years, and could suggest lower yields than anticipated.
Study Tour
A group of almost 20 industry stakeholders will attend an ABA endorsed study tour of Spain and Portugal in May. The project has received co-funding through Hort Innovation and aims to investigate the merits of higher density plantings and drought tolerance strategies in orchards. It is the first of two study tours locked in for the industry. A second tour in May next year will visit California. ABA Industry Development Manager Deidre Jaensch and Sustainability Officer Ella Henson will be leading the Spanish tour.
Marketing campaign
The almond industry’s profile has certainly received a boost recently, thanks to the alliance with our new global ambassador Poh Ling Yeow. The MasterChef celebrity has been a popular addition to our marketing campaigns and we look forward to promotional work in India and Malaysia where we are attempting to build an awareness of almonds in order to drive demand. Poh’s warm personality and can-do attitude has helped lift the profile of almonds with key market segments. The inclusion of Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers is another exciting addition. He certainly made a big splash when he visited Griffith earlier this month and spoke to local swimmers about the benefits of eating almonds amidst a nutritious diet that improved performance. We look forward to utilising Kyle to drive demand in the Australian market where almond consumption has flattened in more recent times.
Inbound mission
A group of Indian buyers will tour all the processing facilities in the industry this month. The tour, which has been underpinned by the ABA’s Hort Innovation sponsored marketing project, will see almost 30 representatives fly into Sunraysia and spend four days inspecting facilities and discussing the 2025-26 crop. All will be hungry for offers of inshell as the season kicks off. A dry start to production should result in reasonable inshell production. India is now Australia’s second largest export market as a result of the trade agreement that reduced tariffs by 50%. The ABA has been working closely with our Delhi-based agency SS Associates to ensure a broad crosssection of leading Indian buyers attend. Some will be visiting Australian almonds for the first time. More than 200,000 tonnes of almonds are imported into India annually and Australia has just over 10% share.
Many Riverina growers have already finished harvest, which is much earlier than most yeras and could suggest lower yields than anticipated.
Water prices increase
Permanent and temporary water prices have firmed in recent times. Those in the market are pointing to recent Federal Government buyback purchases across the Murray Darling Basin as the key contributor to the firmer prices, especially permanent water which has jumped significantly. As irrigated industries and communities across the basin have long stated, if the pricing of purchases made through the buyback schemes are made at above-market prices then the cost of production will inevitably rise. This will reduce the viability of primary producers and could inevitably increase the cost of living, given the percentage of food and fibre produced across the basin. All eyes are now on the long-term weather forecast for south-eastern NSW and northern eastern Victoria. Storage in the Dartmouth Dam, the primary source of water for 75% of the almond industry, remains above 80% as we head into winter and the 2025- 26 irrigation year.
Market pricing
Global almond pricing has started to firm again after softening over the previous month. The improved pricing in the early part of the season, along with the USD-AUD exchange rate, should provide growers with a muchneeded lift in returns for the 2025-26 crop. Grower returns have been in doldrums for at least three years, but it would appear the pricing cycle has turned as the Californian crop comes in light and demand remains strong. At the recent trade missions in Mumbai and Dubai, interest in Australian almonds remained bullish and the marketers will be sifting through a range of options to maximise returns and consolidate existing supply relationships. The tariff wars sparked by the actions of the newly-elected US Government has already resulted in Australian almonds gaining advantages in China and Europe. All eyes are now on what India and the US do around tariffs as there has been speculation that a new deal might result in a reduction of Indian tariffs on American agricultural products like almonds.
Leadership course
We are three months into the inaugural industry-specific leadership and the feedback from participants has been very positive. We look forward to working with our co-delivery partners Innovative Influences to roll out the rest of the course and introduce the first cohort of graduates at the Research and Development Forum in Robinvale in October. The course combines personal development content with industry specific modules that are designed to provide participants with information that gives them with confidence to become leaders within their own organisations and the broader community.