Around the world, prices vary by country of origin. The cost of almonds has nearly doubled in the past five years. In fact, the harvest is so valuable that it has attracted a new breed of thieves. Nut hunters, as they are known, have been taking the products with the truck loaded, leaving a big dent in the profits of some growers.
Almonds are expensive due to land prices, long harvesting process, drought conditions, and rising labor and pollination costs. Almond trees are large and require a lot of land and water in a state where land is expensive and droughts are common. Almond growers also spend a lot of money renting commercial hives to pollinate all their almond trees. Organic almonds are very expensive because they require more labor than regular almonds.
Organic almonds are generally higher due to higher land cost, a prolonged harvesting process, drought conditions, and higher labor and pollination costs. It's expensive to buy land in states where droughts are common and almond trees are large and require a lot of water. Nuts are expensive because of their difficulty growing and harvesting. Due to the scarcity of land that can grow almonds, land suitable for growing almond trees is very expensive.
Since Marcona almonds are a gourmet variety and can only be found in Spain, they are quite expensive. Since almonds grow on trees, it's much more difficult to remove them each season and plant something else. The cost of almonds has almost doubled in the last 5 years and, if current inflation trends continue, it is likely to increase further. In addition, most brand name almonds are not careful with cross-contamination and warn that their almonds “may contain peanuts.” Since there are only a few regions in the world that can grow almonds well, it means that there is already a limited supply that farmers can produce.
While growing almond trees in the right climate isn't too difficult, it takes a long time for the tree to produce the nuts. Because of this, the ripening process of almonds continues throughout the year and export work continues in the same way around the world. Almond butter is expensive because almond thieves make farmers spend more to protect their trees. Almond prices tend to fluctuate from year to year, depending on crop yield, which is affected by climate and drought.
When that happens, the price of almond products could decrease as demand for that new product increases. The price of almonds is set for a full year, so you generally won't see price fluctuations from season to season. One of the reasons almond butter is expensive is because of the drought affecting California.
