Bullish Price Trend for Walnuts in Europe was Short-lived amidst Weak Demand and Oversupply

Walnut prices found support at the end of 2022 and the first days of 2023 on the sentiment that consumers will resume their focus on healthy eating in 2023. However, the global oversupply of nuts and ongoing economic woes gave prices a reality check in the last weeks of January. In Hungary, wholesale walnut kernel prices increased by 24% from the beginning of October to the beginning of January but dropped 9% back down again in the last week of January to USD 8.05/kg. Wholesale in-shell walnut prices in France followed a very similar trend increasing 23% between the beginning of October and the beginning of January but dropping 9% in the last two weeks of January to USD 5.50/kg. Fundamentals in the nut market remain bearish but with prices at decade lows, sporadic buying could lead to small price increases.
Walnut prices showed a bullish trend in the last months of 2022 with hopes of demand revival in 2023. Hungary's wholesale walnut kernel prices rose 24% from October to January, emerging from decade lows of only USD 7.14/kg to reach USD 8.87/kg. However, with fundamentals still bearish, prices dropped once more in the second week of January, falling 9% WoW to USD 8.05/kg. In-shell walnut prices in France followed a very similar trend. In France, wholesale raw in-shell walnut prices also followed a similar trend, increasing 23% from October to January, reaching USD 6.05/kg. However, prices fell 9% in the last two weeks of January to USD 5.50/kg. Amidst economic uncertainty, demand for nuts have been sporadic - buyers are making use of decade low prices to keep their inventories topped up, but retail sales remain slow.