China's pine nut supply gap has been exacerbated by a shortage of raw materials from abroad. Meihekou County's annual pine nut processing capacity can reach 150,000 tons when it gets half of its raw materials from China and the other half from imports. As anyone who has satisfied their appetite for pine nuts recently can see, prices are rising. The reasons are several poor crops, increased demand and the ever-popular climate change.
And the prospects for change are not good. The domestic version of pine nuts comes from the west and southwest, produced by the pinonero pine. However, the vast majority of pine nuts are imported from China. There have been problems in both places.
Pine nuts develop slowly, he explained. They are the seeds that grow in a pineapple and take 18 months to reach maturity. In spring, a pine tree releases pollen that pollinates other trees. In early to mid-summer, a cone about the size of a small marble forms.
It remains dormant during the fall and winter, and then becomes a mature cone that bears fruit (pine seeds) the following spring. In the U.S. UU. ,.
. The layer of snow that nourishes pine trees gradually in spring and early summer is disappearing due to warmer weather patterns. The result, LeBaron said, is that the prices of domestically produced pine nuts have risen 200 percent over the past five years; the prices of imported nuts have risen between 800 and 1000 percent. Libba Letton, a spokeswoman for Whole Foods Market, said that prices are likely to have doubled in the past year, but added that pine nuts are still available.
The prospects for a rapid rebound are slim. Braverman said that China's new harvest will arrive in early November, a little earlier than in previous years, and that the outlook is better than last year. Not a wonderful harvest, but definitely a better one, one that hopes will generate slightly lower prices. Nor is there much that can be done.
Growing acres of pine trees is not an option, and not just because of the years it would take for trees to start producing fruit. The right location and climate would be major obstacles. For the pesto, lightly dry-roasted walnuts will do. To cover pasta or put it in a salad, try macadamia nuts or coarsely chopped walnuts.
Roasted sunflower kernels can be used as a topping for salads and soups. Brazil nuts have a resinous quality similar to that of other nuts. Traders will be interested to know that almost half of the red pine variety has been sold to domestic and international markets. Grimo added that it's not the same as climbing a walnut tree, for example, since the branches of the pine tree are tighter.
The biggest environmental impact of harvesting pine nuts is their extraction from trees, but their production is limited to a small percentage of the world's nut harvest. It doesn't matter if you need real pine nuts, but you can always look for other alternatives if you want to save some money. They grow only a few centimeters a year and pine nuts take two years to mature for harvest, Torres said. Overexploitation threatens forest health.
For example, pine nut producers have to climb trees and use ladders to deliver them while dropping nuts on the ground. Due to this increase, the supply of pine nuts cannot keep up, which translates into an increase in prices because the value increases. And on the other hand, there is the pine nut, which is exorbitantly priced, which makes teardrop-shaped nuts like dried fruit caviar. In addition to these factors, you can also consider the climate change that is taking place and its effects on the growth of pine nuts.
For example, pine nut producers have to climb trees and use ladders to pass their hands while dropping nuts on the ground. Pine nuts aren't as common as other nuts, but demand continues to rise in the United States and Europe. So, if you're planning to buy some pine nuts, you may need to consider the hefty price, especially if you're on a limited budget. .
