Australian Almond Industry
Early varieties of almonds arrived in Australia aboard the Duke of York - part of the First Fleet, with the first plantings grown around 1830 on Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia.
In 1842, two varieties of almonds were grown in Adelaide, South Australia. Following the passing of time and growth of suburbia, most of the almond production moved to the Adelaide Plains, South Australia, Western Victoria and lower New South Wales. Victoria now produces 68% of Australia’s Almonds, followed by 20% from South Australia. Victorian almond orchards are located along the Murray river, within Sunraysia.
Commercial almond orchards have been in Australia for over 60 years. Today, the Australian almond industry operates under very high standards in all aspects of production, processing and marketing.
The long-term outlook for Australian Almonds leads towards significant growth. The industry’s production is set to increase from 104,000 tonnes to more than 160,000 tonnes in the near future. The Australian Almond industry’s marketing strategy of growing both our key established markets and our emerging markets serves to help maximise the value of Australian Almonds.
Most of the almond production in Australia is now in the Sunraysia region, along the Murray River from Swan Hill in Victoria through to Renmark and Loxton in South Australia. Plantings are also located in New South Wales and Western Australia. Australia’s almond growing areas are amongst the most reliable and pest free growing areas in the world.
Since 2000 the total area of planted almonds in Australia has increased from 3,546 hectares to over 53,000 hectares in 2019, with around 47% of almond orchard plantings being in Sunraysia, Victoria.
Australia is the second largest producer of almonds in the world. Australian almond production in 2019 totalled 104,400 tonnes, representing approximately 7% of world production.
Australian Almond Types
The three main varieties grown in Australia include:
Australian Almond Orchards
Australian growing techniques have elevated the yields of orchards putting them amongst the most productive in the world – delivering high tonnages of quality almonds. Based on horticultural technical programs being developed in Australia, there are good reasons to expect yields to improve as a result of refinements in fertilizer application, the application of water with increasingly sophisticated irrigation practices, and improved pruning practices.
Australia produces high quality almonds, graded by size, golden colour and free from blemishes. Australia’s international reputation as a producer of high quality almonds is driving export sales.
Almonds are the most frequent used tree nut in new product launches in Australia.
Australia’s almond crop is harvested and sold at the opposite time of year to most of the world supply which comes from California in the Northern Hemisphere. Our counter seasonality to Northern Hemisphere Growers means that we have fresh high quality almonds to sell to Europe and Asia when the Californian crop is out of season.
The growth in the Australian domestic market continued during 2019/20 with a 5.5% increase in sales. In 2019 the average Australian consumption was 1.13kg per person, which is among one of the highest per capita consumption rates in the world.
Consumer demand for almonds is strengthening both domestically and globally with most of the Australian crop sold in Australia. Over the past 10 years domestic sales of almonds have grown by 106%, indicating the rise in popularity of almonds as part of the Australians’ dietary choices. The customers for almonds in Australia range from large food product companies (e.g. breakfast cereals, dairy, confectionery) through to the major supermarkets, bakeries, catering industry and snack food providers.
