Almonds, Almendras, Prunus dulcis

Almond is a small , 5-10 m high tree, that starts producing on its 5th year.
It has been cultivated since 3000 BC all over Southern Europe and North Africa, along with Middle East.
 Today, USA dominates this market with 1 162 200 tons produced in 2009.
The biggest per capita production is in Lebanon , 6.9 kg of nuts produced in 2009. Spain doesn't fall very far behind with 5.9-6 plus a strong growth of production rate. With all that Spain is still number 1 buyer of US almonds.
In 2009,  2 311 682 + tons of almonds (with shell) were  produced, leaving a potential consumer with 335 grams of nuts to consume.
Assuming 60% edible weight, world crop can provide 11.36 million people  with 2000 calories a day, or an entire population of Cuba.

1 766 641+ hectares ( over 1.14% of all permanent crop land in the world ) were used for production of almonds in 2009, a territory similar in size to Kuwait.
Also during 2009, American exporters sold $1.42 billion in shelled almonds to customers in 101 nations.


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US Exported Almond Sales

Among the top 12 buyers of American shelled almonds, 3 countries below (Spain, Germany and Hong Kong) generated over a third of the total $1.4 billion in US exported almond sales in 2009.

1. Spain … US$211.1 million
2. Germany … $145.1 million
3. Hong Kong … $138.4 million
4. United Arab Emirates … $111.3 million
5. Canada … $86.2 million
6. Japan … $78.5 million
7. Netherlands … $61.4 million
8. Italy … $53.9 million
9. South Korea … $45.1 million
10. France … $44.6 million
11. India … $35.7 million
12. Russia … $35.1 million

Overall, US export sales for shelled almonds were down 3.6% from $1.48 billion in 2008. Among the top 12 almond buyers above, 7 nations generated reduced imported almond sales at rates ranging from a 5.5% slowdown in Canada to a 27% decline in Italy.

Leading the percentage gains in the remaining 5 countries, US exported almond sales were up 58.9% and 57.3% in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong respectively.

Production by country:

Afghanistan	Almonds, with shell	31481		42000			M
Algeria	Almonds, with shell	34110		39521		47393
Argentina	Almonds, with shell	500		500	F	500	F
Armenia	Almonds, with shell	0	F	0	F		M
Australia	Almonds, with shell	18024		19000	F	18957
Azerbaijan	Almonds, with shell	502		500		505
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Almonds, with shell	55		48		49
Bulgaria	Almonds, with shell	245		300	F	503
Burkina Faso	Almonds, with shell	1300	F	1300	F	1260	Fc
Chile	Almonds, with shell	10400		10500	F	11000	F
China	Almonds, with shell	30000		32000	F	35000	F
Côte d'Ivoire	Almonds, with shell	800	F	800	F		M
Croatia	Almonds, with shell	500		905		1835
Cyprus	Almonds, with shell	668		432		550
France	Almonds, with shell	1591		1042			M
Georgia	Almonds, with shell	770	F	800	F	700	F
Greece	Almonds, with shell	45652		34500			M
Hungary	Almonds, with shell	182		161		144
Iran (Islamic Republic of)	Almonds, with shell	120000		126679			M
Iraq	Almonds, with shell	390	F	390	F		M
Israel	Almonds, with shell	6478		6276		11762
Italy	Almonds, with shell	112644		118723			M
Jordan	Almonds, with shell	1341		1344		1003
Kazakhstan	Almonds, with shell	300	F	300	F		M
Kyrgyzstan	Almonds, with shell	1500		1500	F	1500	F
Lebanon	Almonds, with shell	29400		29400	F		M
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	Almonds, with shell	25000	F	25000	F		M
Mexico	Almonds, with shell	60	F	60	F	60	F
Morocco	Almonds, with shell	81437		86902			M
Nepal	Almonds, with shell	11		11		9
Occupied Palestinian Territory	Almonds, with shell	5257		6233			M
Pakistan	Almonds, with shell	23382		26614			M
Portugal	Almonds, with shell	11100		9796		12454
Republic of Moldova	Almonds, with shell	1000		1000	F		M
Slovenia	Almonds, with shell	0	F	0	F		M
Spain	Almonds, with shell	187656		173700		276100
Swaziland	Almonds, with shell	750		750	F		M
Syrian Arab Republic	Almonds, with shell	76093		82616		97002
Tajikistan	Almonds, with shell	3200		3200	F		M
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	Almonds, with shell	1376		622		819
Tunisia	Almonds, with shell	58000		51500			M
Turkey	Almonds, with shell	50753		52774		54844
Turkmenistan	Almonds, with shell	1000		1000	F		M
Ukraine	Almonds, with shell	20		10		20
United Arab Emirates	Almonds, with shell	850	F	850	F		M
United States of America	Almonds, with shell	1212900		1410000		1162200
Uzbekistan	Almonds, with shell	18500		18500	F		M
Yemen	Almonds, with shell	130		130	F		M
World + (Total)	Almonds, with shell	2207308		2420189		2311682