M. Shahbandeh
Research expert covering agriculture & FMCG
Nut industry worldwide - statistics & facts
The United States is by far the leading producer of many nut varieties worldwide. In 2023, the U.S. exported over eight billion U.S. dollars’ worth of edible nuts across the world. Other major exporters of nuts that year were Turkey and China. On the other hand, Germany led the world with nuts imports valued at over 1.8 billion U.S. dollars.
Global overview of nut production
During the 2022/2023 year, over five million metric tons of nuts were produced worldwide. Within the tree nut category, almond production volume (kernel basis) was by far the highest in that period; approximately 1.5 million metric tons of almonds were produced that year. Walnuts and cashews, which stood in second and third place respectively, each reached over one million metric tons. As of 2023/24, China produced the largest volume of walnuts in the world, while the majority of the world’s almonds are grown and harvested in the United States. In the 2023/24 crop year, the United States produced over one million metric tons of almonds. Over half of the world’s pistachios were cultivated in the United States in 2022/2023.Global demand for tree nuts is growing
Nuts are some of the world’s most popular snacks and are considered to be quite healthy constituting a fine source of protein, fat, and fiber. Additionally, there has been a rising demand for nut milk beverages. In a recent survey, one third of Americans, Germans and Brits purchased milk alternatives in 2023. The retail sales value of milk alternatives in the United States amounted to about three billion U.S. dollars in 2023 led by almond milk sales. In that calendar year, sales value of almond milk stood at 1.6 billion U.S. dollars. All these resulted in an increase in the worldwide almonds consumption by about 400 thousand metric tons in the last ten years, and is forecast to grow even further in the near future.
