2022 was not a profitable year for all Polish nut producers

Raw Walnut

Hazelnut Kernel

Almond Kernel

Poland

Published Feb 7, 2023

Tridge summary

This season, low prices for nuts - hazelnuts and almonds have been established in the EU countries, including Poland. The exception was the walnut. The fall in the cost of production makes Polish owners of walnut orchards think about their own processing of nuts and the purchase of drying equipment. According to Tomasz Kaczorowski, owner of hazelnut and walnut orchards, head of the Polish company Silesia Fruit, which sells nuts and walnut seedlings, prices for hazelnuts and almonds have been low this year. Thus, the average price of a hazelnut, not dried, is 5 złoty (79.6 rubles) per kg. At the same time, producers consider the optimal cost of 7 zlotys (111.4 rubles) per kg, in this case, the revenue per hectare can be 20 thousand zlotys (approximately 318.4 thousand rubles). This year there was a significant increase in the price of fertilizers, which led to an increase in the cost of production.

Original content

One low purchase price is not the only problem faced by the owners of walnut orchards. It is difficult for Polish farmers to sell hazelnuts that have not been dried beforehand, and not all agricultural enterprises have the appropriate equipment. Prices for walnuts are still stable and reach 9 zł (143.3 rubles) per kilogram. Unpeeled walnuts cost no more than 1.5 zł (23.8 rubles) per kilogram. Over the past 20 years, nuts were mainly purchased by intermediaries, who then sold them on the exchanges or in retail stores. Some of the nuts were bought by Italian processors. “We ourselves are hostages of this situation. Drying nuts has many advantages, because products that have not undergone pre-treatment can be sold until mid-November at most, later mold and aflatoxins appear in the nuts. But a dried walnut can be sold even after a year,” says Tomasz Kaczorowski. In this situation, Polish farmers have no choice but to purchase drying equipment. However, there is a problem: dryers run ...

Source: Fruitnews