India may produce 1,200 tonnes of almonds in 2009-10

Sunday August 23,2009 04:51 PM, Source: Financial Express

The production of almond- known as the king of nuts, in the country is likely to remain stagnant at 1,200 tonnes in 2009-10, while the world's output is forecast to dip by 13 per cent in the same period, a latest report said.
Almond production in India for 2009-10 is pegged at 1,200 tonnes, which is the same as last year, the US Department of Agriculture said in its trade report.
Almond cultivation in the country is restricted to selected hilly areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
The USDA data showed that India's production of almond has been stagnant at 1,200 tonnes since 2004.
The report highlighted that the world's almond output may decline by 13 per cent at 7,60,000 tonnes due to an expected smaller crop in the US, where over 80 per cent of the world's almonds are produced.
According to USDA, almond production in America is expected to fall 17 per cent to 6,12,350 tonnes in 2009-10, compared with 7,39,350 tonnes in the year-ago period.
Almond production in Europe may rise marginally to 88,950 tonnes from 79,800 tonnes in the last year. The output in Australia is expected to increase to 30,000 tonnes from 26,000 tonnes, the report said.