As almond growing and processor, Select Harvests, nears the end of the 2024 harvest, it says the 2024 crop may be lower than its original forecast, but it is on track to be one of the largest crops the company has ever produced.
The harvest started two weeks earlier than normal due to favourable growing conditions and the company is more than 95 per cent through harvest shaking operations. It estimates the crop will be between 28,000-30,000 MT.
Select Harvest managing director, David Surveyor, said, "This is a strong rebound from last year and validates the quality assets we have in our portfolio. There is clearly still room for productive improvement in the business and our high-performance growth will drive that."
While weather conditions during the harvest period have not been perfect, they have been considerably better than recent years. Around 15 per cent of the crop has been processed with quality metrics up on last year. Select expects a good quality profile of inshell and kernel grades, which will help support pricing.
Looking overseas, Surveyor said the Almond Board of California's March 2024 Position Report showed reduced shipments for export and US domestic markets. US shipment to China are "well below" last year, with a lack of good quality product availability impacting demand. The US 2023 crop suffered quality issues, with Navel Orange Worm, small sizing, and double the normal defect rate.
Select Harvest's sales are underway with around 28 per cent of allocated export volumes contracted at "attractive pricing levels". Its 2024 crop is current y over 60 per cent hedged at an average AUD/USD exchange rate of 0.66.
Select's forecast crop price is in the range of $7.30-7.50 per kilogram.
"The cash proceeds from the sale of the crop are starting to flow and this will be applied to further reducing our debt position as a priority. We remain focused on growing, processing, and selling almonds as efficiently as possible," Surveyor said.
