Australia has had the highest ever pistachio harvest this year. Prognoses suggesting that the production could triple within the next 8 years. This industry hopes to grow into new international market. Most of Australia’s pistachio production is located on the Murray River in southern New South Wales and northwestern Victoria as well as South Australia, with many nuts being processed in facilities such as the recently established, multi-million dollar plant located in Robinvale, Victoria.

Contrary to that of the Northern Hemisphere where pistachios are picked during September Australian the pistachios harvest is in late February through the beginning of March. In the last 10 years, the market has grown from 700 acres to more than 3,000 acres. Chris Joyce, chairman of the Australian Pistachio Growers Association research committee, spoke about this industry’s expansion, saying, “The crop we produced this year was 4,500 tons which was more than the prior Australian record of 1,000 tons.” The producer expects to triple in the coming two or three years, and after that, it will double within the next four years.

Presently, the industry can meet the Australian demand for its domestic market, but is expecting to be in surplus in the near future, which will prompt the industry to look at alternatives to export and increasing the domestic consumption. Joyce added that historical value of pistachios has drawn producers from various industries, highlighting the crop’s long-term viability and financial efficiency compared with other nuts such as almonds. In spite of the global expansion in the pistachio plantations especially in California as well as Spain, Joyce remains optimistic of the Australian sector’s future growth particularly in countries such as China as well as India.

David Crawford, a semi-retired farmer and the director of the Australian Pioneer Pistachio Company, is also optimistic about expansion into Asian markets. Brendan Sidhu, chairman of the Australian Nut Industry Council and an almond cultivator who has made investments in pistachios. He expressed his optimism about this industry’s future prospects, specifically within the Murray Darling Basin’s perfect environment for growing pistachios.

Source: ABC News