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Flaxbee

(13,661 posts)
Fri Jul 27, 2012, 10:56 PM Jul 2012

Why are nuts so damn expensive? Pecans, walnuts, almonds, pine nuts...

I really enjoy using them in meals - salads, pesto, breakfast, etc. - but at $8-10/lb for pecans and walnuts, I just don't buy much (especially because if my husband spots them, they're gone in a heartbeat - I have to hide them all over the kitchen / house to preserve them for meals).

But really - husband is from South Carolina and remembers pecan trees everywhere. It's not like they're exotic nuts -- so why so $$$?

Thanks for any thoughts.

19 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Why are nuts so damn expensive? Pecans, walnuts, almonds, pine nuts... (Original Post) Flaxbee Jul 2012 OP
I've finally developed some restraint, but yeah--incredibly expensive. Costco or nothing, for me. hlthe2b Jul 2012 #1
I don't know about other parts of the country, but my pecan tree hasn't given me a crop Arkansas Granny Jul 2012 #2
That's pretty typical for pecan trees Major Nikon Jul 2012 #9
This is a mature tree that has had good crops in the past. Last year we had a dry summer and much Arkansas Granny Jul 2012 #15
It takes a lot out of the tree to produce a good crop Major Nikon Jul 2012 #16
Yes they have gone sky high The empressof all Jul 2012 #3
Careful of the costco pine nuts noamnety Jul 2012 #5
Interesting. I googled and found this: freshwest Jul 2012 #13
I just paid 40/lb for organic pine nuts, for my yearly pesto making. msanthrope Jul 2012 #4
Try using walnuts instead of pine nuts for your pesto. FSogol Jul 2012 #17
You've just given me a belly laugh.... msanthrope Jul 2012 #18
I buy them in bulk, and they have gone up $2-$3/pound since the first of the year grasswire Jul 2012 #6
Two reasons -- poor crops and Asian markets. Denninmi Jul 2012 #7
I agree, and some orchards have died from drought or fire. freshwest Jul 2012 #14
such a concentrated amount NJCher Jul 2012 #8
I can tell you why pecans are so expensive Major Nikon Jul 2012 #10
Drought, honeybee colony collapse disorder, Obama. GoCubsGo Jul 2012 #11
as an example, here are the stats on Oregon's produce exports grasswire Jul 2012 #12
Not to worry, soon the price of meat will be in the same range. Funny, how sinkingfeeling Jul 2012 #19

hlthe2b

(101,730 posts)
1. I've finally developed some restraint, but yeah--incredibly expensive. Costco or nothing, for me.
Fri Jul 27, 2012, 11:00 PM
Jul 2012

Not cheap, but certainly cheaper than just about anywhere else and the quality is good.

Arkansas Granny

(31,483 posts)
2. I don't know about other parts of the country, but my pecan tree hasn't given me a crop
Fri Jul 27, 2012, 11:02 PM
Jul 2012

for the last two years and other people I talk to say the same thing. There are nuts on the tree now, but it has already started shedding immature pecans due to the heat and drought. We had a good rain last night so I'm hoping that will help, but the forecast doesn't look too promising for more rain or a break in the heat.

Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
9. That's pretty typical for pecan trees
Sat Jul 28, 2012, 03:31 PM
Jul 2012

If you have an ungrafted tree it may never produce well. Grafted trees will take as long as a decade before you get a good crop. Even if you have a grafted tree that is well established there will probably be more off years where you won't get much of a crop.

Arkansas Granny

(31,483 posts)
15. This is a mature tree that has had good crops in the past. Last year we had a dry summer and much
Sun Jul 29, 2012, 07:45 PM
Jul 2012

higher than normal temps and it dropped all of it's nuts early. This year it is just loaded with nuts, but we've had dry weather and high temps again and it has shed a lot of immature pecans already. We lost a lot of trees around here last year and they are starting to show stress again this year. It has just been a couple of bad years for trees in general.

Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
16. It takes a lot out of the tree to produce a good crop
Sun Jul 29, 2012, 09:13 PM
Jul 2012

So it makes sense that if you have excessive heat with drought conditions the tree is not going to produce well. If the tree is older (30 years or more) you might want to have an arborist look at it just to make sure you don't lose it. Old pecan trees are like gold. At a previous house I had a really big and old pecan tree. In a good year it would produce like crazy. I sure miss it.

The empressof all

(29,098 posts)
3. Yes they have gone sky high
Fri Jul 27, 2012, 11:12 PM
Jul 2012

Costco or Trader Joes are the best bets but I noticed the Trader Joes bags are getting smaller. Also check your bulk bins in the grocery store. You can sometimes save a buck or more bagging your own.

 

noamnety

(20,234 posts)
5. Careful of the costco pine nuts
Sat Jul 28, 2012, 12:55 AM
Jul 2012

My mom got some pretty recently and they gave her pine mouth syndrome. She'd never heard of it, and it freaked her the hell out - she thought she was maybe getting warning symptoms of a brain tumor or something. (Check that they aren't from China - the costco ones were.)

 

msanthrope

(37,549 posts)
4. I just paid 40/lb for organic pine nuts, for my yearly pesto making.
Fri Jul 27, 2012, 11:22 PM
Jul 2012

Yes. You read that right.

But the pesto is really, really great.....

FSogol

(45,360 posts)
17. Try using walnuts instead of pine nuts for your pesto.
Sun Jul 29, 2012, 10:38 PM
Jul 2012

It is quite better. The pine nuts I find in the grocery stores around here are expensive and usually rancid,

 

msanthrope

(37,549 posts)
18. You've just given me a belly laugh....
Sun Jul 29, 2012, 11:27 PM
Jul 2012

Walnuts....I would never live down pesto made from walnuts...



1) My Sicilian ancestors would rise from their graves. I am an atheist, but I firmly, firmly believe that the ghosts of my Mema and Noni would appear in my kitchen, weeping and wailing.

2) My living Sicilian relatives would call. You see, I make pesto for the whole family. We all know a pine nut from a walnut. I can't imagine the phone calling, but I do know that every family dinner between now and the next batch would have a live debate over my heresy.

3) Walnuts are not better. True, they are better than a rancid pignola.

4) You don't buy pignoli from a grocery store. You order them from your salumeria, along with your cheese, and your oil on the same weekend your greengrocer is getting you two cases of basilico and 10 heads of garlic.

5) You have to use your walnut crop to make your nocino. You don't want to miss that.



grasswire

(50,130 posts)
6. I buy them in bulk, and they have gone up $2-$3/pound since the first of the year
Sat Jul 28, 2012, 03:39 AM
Jul 2012

...except for almonds, which are $4.99.

Perhaps we should look to the eating habits of our Asian consumers for the answer. I just learned that 60 percent of the blueberry crop in Oregon is going to Japan because they have developed a taste for them.

That's gotta make our prices go up.

Denninmi

(6,581 posts)
7. Two reasons -- poor crops and Asian markets.
Sat Jul 28, 2012, 07:06 AM
Jul 2012

The crop on pecans was extremely bad last year, Texas, which is the largest producer, had extreme losses due to heat and drought. Even irrigated groves lost most of the nuts, the heat was too much for them. And what is produced gets snapped up by Asian consumers willing to pay $$$ for them.

NJCher

(35,434 posts)
8. such a concentrated amount
Sat Jul 28, 2012, 09:20 AM
Jul 2012

from bulk to what you buy in the bag is a big difference. I'm sure you've shelled some before--think back to that and you can probably see why they're so expensive.

I think Trader Joe's has some pretty decent prices on nuts. That's where I buy mine.


Cher



Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
10. I can tell you why pecans are so expensive
Sat Jul 28, 2012, 04:01 PM
Jul 2012

It takes 8-10 years to establish a pecan orchard before they will get a profitable crop. They only produce well in very rich soil. Even after that much time, younger trees don't produce as much as older trees, and there will be many off years where they won't get a good crop.

GoCubsGo

(32,061 posts)
11. Drought, honeybee colony collapse disorder, Obama.
Sat Jul 28, 2012, 05:35 PM
Jul 2012

Drought is a huge factor. At least this is much of the case for pecans, and for peanuts, which is why peanut butter is so outrageously expensive. The trees are still everywhere here (South Carolina), and in Georgia, which is catching it even worse in some places. Texas is also a huge pecan producer, and they have had issues with weather, as well. This is the third or fourth growing season in a row where it has been abnormally hot and dry. And, as was pointed out elsewhere in this thread, a lot of the pecan and other nut crops--what there is of them, are being shipped to China, where they apparently are willing to pay more for them.

Another problem is that honeybees are dying off. That only affects almonds, Brazil nuts, and cashews, as the others are predominately wind-pollinated. It's also a huge problem for a large number of other crops, including citrus.

And, of course, it's all President Obama's fault, since everything bad in this country is his fault.

, although all these teabagger types will certainly try to blame the high food prices on him. Some already are.

grasswire

(50,130 posts)
12. as an example, here are the stats on Oregon's produce exports
Sat Jul 28, 2012, 08:42 PM
Jul 2012

40% of Oregon's agricultural products are shipped offshore.

Asia receives 87.7% of those products.

80% of Oregon's agricultural products leave the state.

Top markets for that are China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and S. Korea.

S. Korea purchases $368,000,000 of those products yearly.

Oregon farmers have increased their blueberry plantings exponentially to feed the Asian market.

The only downside for farmers? Asian appetites are trendy, apparently. What's hot today might be jam tomorrow.

sinkingfeeling

(51,279 posts)
19. Not to worry, soon the price of meat will be in the same range. Funny, how
Mon Jul 30, 2012, 12:53 PM
Jul 2012

most people don't think $8 to $10 a pound is expensive for steatk, but do for nuts.

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