Australia is set to overtake Spain this year as the world’s second-largest almond producer, with an estimated 70,000-tonne crop for the 2013 season.
This makes almonds Australia's largest horticultural export, with India both its biggest market for almonds and its fastest growing.
More broadly, global demand for almonds doubled in the past decade. Chief executive of the Almond Board of Australia Ross Skinner has said that if consumption continues to increase at current rates of 5 per cent annually, global demand will exceed supply after 2014.
At present, 66 per cent of Australia’s almond production comes from the vast almond groves between Lake Cullulleraine and Boundary Bend along the Murray River.
With demand anticipated to keep rising, the industry’s increasing profitability means that other areas are being considered for irrigation to expand prospective growth areas.
Industry experts anticipate that Australia’s national almond production will reach 90,000 tonnes by 2017.
