LAKE COUNTY >> In recent months, China halted purchases of California walnuts, opting to use their own crops which were apparently plentiful this year. In the past, China has played a large role in California walnut sales.
“China has been a significant buyer of walnuts over the last several years,” said Alex Suchan of Suchan Farm and Nursery.
“They buy a lot out of California, so yes, they have played a big part,” confirmed local walnut grower Paul Lauenroth. So China’s recent move may seem like it could be a major hit to Lake County, but growers show little concern over the market shift.
“We don’t even notice it,” said Lauenroth. “There’s so many players in the game worldwide. I have a friend that works for a large place in Chico. They sell walnuts to 35 countries.” Lauenroth explained that when China buys less of the crop, that leaves room for other countries to purchase greater quantities.
“If one says they only want half as much, it’s not a big deal,” he said. “Japan bought more this year. Korea bought more.”
Suchan sells his walnuts to Diamond Foods, so any market changes never directly affect his crop. He also has little concern about China, due to Diamond Foods’ marketing strategies.
“Both Diamond and a grower financed walnut marketing commission actively pursue new and continuing markets on a regular basis and deal with the market changes for the growers who contract with them,” he said. “Diamond Foods handles the sale of our walnuts around the world, so the future sales of my crops rests with their marketing plans.”
Suchan’s experience doesn’t appear to be unique either. Terry Dereniuk, who owns a small, 16-acre orchard here in Lake County, goes through a third-party seller as well. “We sell our Walnuts to ACME in Chico,” she said. “We have not encountered any change [in sales].”
It seems that this isn’t the first year the country has pulled back the reins when purchasing from California. “I think with China it’s a yearly thing,” Lauenroth ventured. “This year they’ve just had a good crop. They’re a bigger walnut grower than the United States and their crop will vary a lot.”
Growers are accustomed to the unpredictable nature of the market.
“I think it is possible that China will have to buy walnuts from us again in the future,” Suchan said. “Their orchards are grown where weather can be a factor, just as our weather impacts our production here in Lake County.”
The state’s high-quality production process is just another reason why California could see a resurgence in walnut purchases by China. “The Chinese walnuts aren’t nearly the quality that we raise in the United States,” said Lauenroth, explaining that this is due to the way the U.S. cares for their crops. “We by far have the best quality in the world due to the way we raise them.”
Suchan agreed, explaining that Lake County tends to their walnuts even better than much of California. “We don’t have to spray for as many insects or water our walnut trees as much as they do in other areas of the state and our quality is better,” he said.
“[China] have a whole different philosophy, therefore they aren’t as good,” said Lauenroth.
Aside from producing a less superior product, this philosophy means that China cannot rely on their walnut trees as well as Lake County.
“They don’t take care of them the way we do here. Their crops are gonna vary more,” Lauenroth explained.
It’s for these quality reasons that walnut sales are still up, despite China’s actions.
“Lake County walnuts have been quite profitable for some time,” Suchan pointed out. “Prices for walnuts have run up pretty fast over the last few years mostly because of the interest in the health benefits of many nut products and walnuts in particular.”
“The price is still up over last year,” Lauenroth confirmed, putting to rest any ideas that China may be greatly affecting the county.
Further, according to Suchan, Lake County is so small that moves like this don’t really register economically. “I don’t think this action by China will impact our county’s economy particularly,” he said. “Lake County is a pretty small player in the walnut producing field as far as overall sales.”
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
