February 2004 NEWSLETTER

8800 South Minturn Road
Le Grand California 95333 USA
Office 559-665-8500
FAX 559-665-8588

Almond Industry Position Report

Carry-in August 1, 2003
2003 Net Marketable Crop (Received to date)

January 2004 (Million Lbs.)

162.0
974.7

263.4
551.9

Total Sold

Uncommitted Inventory (Not Sold)

815.3

321.4

Position Report

Crop receipts for the 2003 crop year surprisingly have surpassed a billion pounds and now stands at 1,015.3 billion pounds. Very little should be left unreported. Shipments for January were a little disappointing at 77.0 million pounds compared to last January’s record of 81.0 million pounds. Total shipments for the year now stands at 577.8 million pounds, putting us at 1.5 million pounds ahead of last years record pace. Commitments, meaning sold but not delivered are running 40.5 million pounds ahead of last year for the same period. Many believe we are on track to ship a billion plus pounds for this 2003-04 crop year, leaving us a very comfortable carry in of 100-115 million pounds.

The Market

Buying interest peaked in January and has cooled off a bit in February. Experiencing a cool down in February is not uncommon. At this point most handlers are content with their sold position and are willing to wait and evaluate before offering more product into the market. Likewise most users have covered their positions through the bloom period and they are willing to wait and evaluate the bloom before booking new business. As a result the best way to describe today’s market is quiet. Pricing from this point forward on both current and new crop will hinge on bloom and post bloom weather.

2004 Crop Bloom

As of this writing the bloom is getting off to a late start. Bud-set is being reported as good in all growing areas of the state. Bee availability has become tight and as a result prices being charged have gone up significantly in some cases. Most long term weather forecast calls for good bloom weather (clear skies) over the next 2-3 weeks. Because of the later bloom there isn’t much to report, a detailed bloom report will be included in next months newsletter.

Payment

Minturn Nut Company will be making a payment on Thursday April 15. This payment will represent 85%-90% of your final.

Almond Board Elections

Minturn Nut Company is supporting the incumbents in the Almond Board Elections. There will also be an Almond Board referendum vote this year in which Minturn Nut supports with a “yes” vote.

Buyer & Seller of Quality California Almonds