The USDA Objective almond measurement came in at 2.80 billion pounds, down 7% from the USDA Subjective Almond Forecast, which was released in May. The report, which was published on 10th July, also came in below the Terra Nova Trading and Wonderful estimates, which had the cropped pegged at 2.97 billion pounds and 2.94 billion pounds respectively.
Prior to the release, market participants were expecting a figure close to or above 3 billion pounds with most pegging the crop at 2.90-3.20 billion pounds.
“It has caught everyone slightly off-guard as it was much lower than expectations,” a US trader stated.
There were also some suggestions that the area multiplier of 1.38 million acres used in the report may be on the high side, due to the increased number of abandonments this year.
Source: mintecglobal.com
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