Almond Journey Almond Journey

Highlights from the March 2023 Global Update from the Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs team at the Almond Board of California.
ABC participation in the Gulfood Show ABC exhibited in the USA Pavilion at the Gulfood show in Dubai during the week of Feb 20. The USA Pavilion included 158 U.S. companies and associations including nine almond exporters. The show hosted over 5,000 exhibitors from 125 countries and was attended by over 2 million commercial visitors. Many of them expressed interest in almonds! It seems almond demand in the Middle East and across Africa is higher than ever. We had visitors from the beginning to end of the show waiting in line to ask us questions about the industry, particularly related to finding suppliers and technical information.
The entire region continues to grow, with California almond shipments to UAE increasing from $193 m in CY2020 to $310 m in CY2022. The FAS offices in Pakistan and Turkey sent delegations by our booth to discuss the market, market access issues and future cooperation opportunities. Other visitors included buyers and processors from Russia, Ukraine, Algeria, Cyprus, India, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, etc. A logistics company from Dubai’s Al Ras wholesale market shared a google map link that shows how product moves from Dubai to Afghanistan and other ports in the area. Check it out here.
FAS/Dubai also led a tour of the DMCC Tea and Coffee Processing Center at the local Port’s FTZ. DMCC is partially owned by the UAE government and has years of experience in trading/processing gold and diamonds. DMCC plans to expand its operations to provide services to other sectors, including tree nuts, in the future.
ABC – India Trade Conference During the week of February 14, the annual ABC trade conference was held in India. More than 240 importers and processors attended the meeting this year. Starting with a regulatory update, discussions focused on the greatest impediments to the market which were identified through a survey of Indian trade. Retaliatory tariffs and FSSAI regulation were among the key concerns. The need to form alliances and engage through Indian partners was highlighted as an important means of addressing concerns.
Considerable interest was expressed in the crop status, particularly insights from a California handler panel. While everyone is waiting to see how the California crop progresses, there was considerable optimism related to the long-term growth potential of the India market. This carried into the presentation of ABC marketing initiatives in India. Building on a strong tradition and culture, programs are expanding to encompass more health influencers. Other opportunities exist in ingredients, which are a growing sector for almonds, as well as expanding into rural India.
Great Britain PEC CertificateGreat Britain (GB) is in the process of reviewing/revising regulations that it retained from the European Union (EU) post-Brexit. This includes EU regulation 2015/1949, which governs the Pre-Export Check (PEC) program that recognizes California Almonds for a reduced inspection rate upon arrival in the EU. ABC has been made aware of a GB-specific version of the Pre-Export Check certificate to accompany California almond exports to Great Britain.
ABC contacted both UK Port Authority and FAS staff to ensure no shipments are detained pending an agreement between GB and USA. USDA has advised that UK authorities have agreed to accept the current PEC certificate while the situation is being reviewed. Optimally, UK import control authorities will agree to use the existing PEC system with slight modifications to satisfy GB requirements. We will update the industry once a final decision is agreed upon. If any handlers have their shipments impacted, please reach...

Mohnish Seth is the president and owner of Farmers International. He and his wife Versha Seth joined the Journey to share their incredible story of migrating to California from India in the early 1990’s to find a new source for high quality almonds. Their experiences offer real insights into how India – which doesn’t have any domestic production of almonds – has become such a massive consumer.
 
“The way things are done in California especially, everything is counted, everything is accountable. The university system is there, the agriculture department is there, the Almond Board is there. We are so visible, and we are proud to share that information with the people.” - Mohnish Seth
 
In Today’s episode:
Meet Mohnish and Versha Seth of Farmers International as they share their journey in growing the almond industryExplore how India has developed such an affinity for almondsDiscover the major obstacles facing California almonds getting to more international markets
ABC Update:
India remains the top export market for California almonds. In fact, shipments to the country more than doubled in volume between 2016 and 2021. Almond Board of California Vice President of Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs Julie Adams says India remains a top priority for growing demand for California almonds, but there are still some real challenges to be addressed.
 
“We have to keep working with our partners across governments in trade to really look at the longer-term growth, and I think almonds are going to continue to be a big part of that growth.” - Julie Adams
 
The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.
 
 
ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.
 

Third generation almond grower Eric Spycher farms alongside his brother, Curt, and their father near Balico, California. This past year, Spycher was one of a few growers approached by the Turlock Irrigation District to collaborate on a groundwater recharge project. Spycher joins the Journey to share the impressive results they’ve seen from this work, how the project got started, what made his 40-acre field a good fit for this, what reservations he had, and how everything has turned out so far. He also offers some ideas for the future that apply to both growers and irrigation districts throughout the state.
“The thing that surprised me is how much the local wells groundwater came up purely from my neighbor and I doing this sample along with the rain. I'm sure it was a portion of both the rain and our project, but I was really surprised at how much the groundwater came up.” - Eric Spycher
In Today’s episode:
Meet third generation almond grower Eric Spycher who is working with the Turlock Irrigation District and Sustainable Conservation in an effort to recharge groundwater basinsExplore the process, concerns and effects of banking groundwaterDiscover the potential for almond orchards to recharge groundwater resourcesConsider if groundwater recharge might be an option in your area in the future

ABC Update:
The Almond Board of California has developed an introductory guide to help inform growers who might be considering whether groundwater recharge could be an option for them. Almond Board principal analyst Jesse Roseman says the guide seeks to answer basic questions about whether groundwater recharge might be a fit for your orchard and to provide considerations about how the process might impact your operation.
Learn more by viewing the Introduction to Groundwater Recharge guide. Roseman said the resource is a great place to start learning about the practice before communicating with your local irrigation district. 
 
The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.
 
ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

Highlights from the February 2023 Global Update from the Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs team at the Almond Board of California.
Algeria Requires FumigationABC sent out a note to handlers on January 26 stating that Algeria does not require fumigation per USDA/APHIS. However, after further follow-up, it has been confirmed that a fumigation requirement implemented in late 2022 only allows Aluminum or Magnesium Phosphide fumigation of products intended for export to Algeria. The fumigation information must be included on the mandatory phytosanitary certificate. APHIS updated its online PCIT/PExD database accordingly on January 30. For more information, contact akulkarni@almondboard.com.
Update on French and Spanish Environmental Packaging Measures In January, ABC received some disconcerting reports about France and Spain separately implementing new measures related to environmental packaging laws that still have not been fully implemented by the EU. Spain was the first to implement a new plastic tax (Spanish Law 7/2022) that went into effect on Jan 1, 2023 which levies a tax of 0.45 euro per kilogram on the proportion of non-recyclable plastic in the packaging material. Spain has not published any official guidance yet to assist stakeholders in compliance. We are advising industry members to work with their buyers in providing the requested information. It is our understanding that some buyers have provided templates, while others have requested a packing list on company letterhead or a declaration on invoices. Where claims about recycled plastic % have been made, you may be asked to provide a copy of the certificate from your packaging suppliers. But at this point, we are not aware of any specific requirements for how the information is to be provided. We will provide more guidance as soon as we receive it from the USDA office in Madrid.
The other issue is related to a proposed new environmental labeling scheme in France that will go into effect at the end of 2023. The purpose of the labeling is to “inform consumers about the environmental qualities and characteristics of waste-generating products”, and will mainly apply to textiles, electronics, toys, etc. While this labeling is not targeted at food products, it is unknown if this could change in the future.
Neither of these initiatives are part of the EU’s proposed Green Deal but were instead developed a few years earlier and are slowly being implemented in various EU member states. For more information, contact akulkarni@almondboard.com.
India Trade Policy Forum Yields Some Results for PecansOn January 11, 2023, the U.S. and India held the 13th Ministerial-level meeting of the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF) in DC. A joint statement published after the meeting indicated many issues were discussed including remaining work on finalizing access for certain agricultural products of interest to both sides, increased dialogue on food and agricultural trade issues, reestablishment of GSP, and potential targeted tariff reductions. On February 2, Senator Jon Ossoff from Georgia issued a press release that India was cutting tariffs on imports of pecans from 100 percent to 30 percent. This was confirmed in the Indian Finance Ministry’s proposed annual budget, released on Feb. 1.
This is excellent news for U.S. and Mexican pecan growers but does not address the retaliatory tariffs on several U.S. agricultural commodities going to India. We are hopeful that further market access issues and tariff reductions in India will be addressed again in the near future, given the fact that California Almonds are the largest U.S. agricultural export to India.

In this episode, we revisit The Almond Conference 2022 with Almond Board President and CEO Richard Waycott to recap his message on the state of the almond industry. Waycott discusses grower profitability, water and biomass all while reflecting on his 20 years in the almond industry and his hope for what he has announced will be his final year leading The Almond Board of California.
 
“On the agricultural side, on the marketing side, on the regulatory side, there are just tremendous and innovative things going on.” - Richard Waycott
 
In Today’s episode:
Reflect on the 2022 Almond Conference and the 2022 almond industry with Richard Waycott, Almond Board of California president and CEOExplore the opportunities, challenges and optimistic future of almonds with one of the industry’s leadersLearn about further innovation in almond production and by-product use
The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.
 
ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

In this episode of the Almond Journey Podcast, we sit down with nine different almond industry leaders to hear about their hopes for 2023 and beyond. This group shares an acknowledgment of the current challenges, but also optimism for the future ahead for almonds.
Our guests include:
Richard Waycott, Almond Board of California president and CEODick Cunningham, grower and Almond Alliance board memberMonish Seth, president and owner of Farmers International in ChicoRobert Holterman, fourth-generation almond growerBikram Hundal, manager of Custom AlmondsJonnalee Dunn, almond grower and growth and development manager for Henderson FarmsKeith Yamamoto, third-generation almond growerTed Reimers, grower and vice president at American Ag CreditBrian Ezell, vice president of the almond division for Wonderful Almonds and Pistachios
“If anybody's gonna win, we're gonna win in this deal. Is it gonna be painful in the short term? Yes, it's already there. But I don't see how you have any choice but to be optimistic. Otherwise, people will just give up and I've never seen this industry being willing to give up.” - Brian Ezell
In Today’s episode:
Reflect on the 2022 almond industry with some of the leading industry stakeholdersDiscover what is keeping people throughout the industry resilient and optimistic about the future aheadHear nine different perspectives about the current state of the almond industry
The Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.
ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.