Walnut Shipments Down 2.2% Year To Date
Total walnut shipments through November fell 2.2% says the California Walnut Board although exports climbed 1.4%. For the month of November tonnage fell to 78,922 from 86,572 in 1000 pounds increments.
The California Farm Bureau reported recently that “sixty percent of California-grown walnuts are exported to Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The crop ranks as California’s fourth-leading agricultural export, according to the commission. Tonnage sold domestically has increased by about 25 percent during the last 15 to 20 years, with California walnuts accounting for more than 99 percent of the commercial U.S. supply.
“We believe we have turned the corner. Looking at data, we saw the strength of the market all of the way back in 2000,” Balint said. “Demand was good, demand was rising, but demand was not ahead of supply. Now, demand is way ahead of supply, and that’s a very positive situation.”
Walnut grower Mat Conant of Rio Oso said he foresees a good year for walnut growers.
“Production is down a little bit, but prices are up and the quality is good,” Conant said, adding that the earlier-than-usual harvest helps in moving walnuts to ports to ship to overseas customers in time for the Christmas buying season.”
Almond Shipments Up 8 Percent In November
Almond shipments from California climbed around 8 percent in November from the same month a year ago continuing the up trend this with this season’s crop..
Diamond Foods Net Sales Down 9.2% In Latest Quarter
San Francisco-based Diamond Foods continued to bleed red ink in the latest quarter as it looks to recover from an accounting scandal forcing it to cough up cash. During the quarter net sales decreased 9.2% to $234.7 million compared to $258.5 million in the prior year period.Net loss was $42.2 million compared to a $10.7 million loss for the same quarter a year ago.
“Our first quarter financial results were in line with our expectations and reflect the headwinds we anticipated from lower walnut supply and Emerald re-launch costs,” said Diamond Foods President and CEO Brian Driscoll.
“We continue to focus on gross margin improvement strategies as well as investing in brand building and innovation as we seek to achieve long-term sustainable growth. Looking ahead, we expect to benefit from the improved foundation of our business, and remain confident that we are on track to achieve earnings improvement in fiscal 2014.”
As of October 31, 2013, net debt outstanding was $583.0 million, including the Oaktree debt at its carrying value. Cash and availability on Diamond’s bank revolving line of credit on October 31, 2013 was approximately $85.3 million.
The company’s snack division did well in the latest period while the nut segment did not. The nut division reported net sales during the first quarter decreased 17.1% to $122.1 million compared to the prior year period.