Almond producer Select Harvest says its 2018 almond crops were impacted by NSW frosts in 2017 but crops elsewhere have helped make up the shortfall.

Providing an update to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Select Harvest said its NSW orchards were more significantly impacted by last year’s frosts than first thought.

The company however said its Victorian and South Australian orchards have made up for the smaller NSW crop.

In the 11 April 2018 ASX update, Select Harvest said it had already harvested 90 per cent of its 2018 crops and it expects the remainder should be harvested within the next fortnight.

Select Harvest estimates its crop to be in line with its initial 15, 000MT estimate.

Managing Director of Select Harvest, Paul Thompson, said it is encouraging to see the ongoing global growth in the consumption of almonds, in particular the Asian markets.

“It can be seen across all categories: breakfast, bakery and even indulgent snacking,” Thompson said.

“We anticipate continued strong growth in the consumption of almonds.

“With 34 per cent of our orchards yet to mature, Select Harvests is perfectly placed to support this increase in demand.

“From a horticultural prospective our orchards are healthy. The 2018 frosts will have no impact on our future crops. We are looking forward to a good crop in 2019.”

Select Harvest’s market update comes at the same time Horticulture Innovation Australia released new statistics showing almonds were Australia’s most valuable horticultural export product in the 12 months ended 30 June 2017. Within the 12-month period, $416 million were sold off overseas.

The largest importer of Australian almonds was India, taking 35 per cent of all Australian almond exports.

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