Beja, Portugal, Sept. 30, 2026 (Lusa) - Almond production in Portugal is expected to rise by 40% this year compared with last year's season and reach 115,000 tonnes in shell, which would be a record, it was announced on Wednesday.
«The outlook is very favourable, not only in terms of a likely 40% increase in production, but also because there has been a significant improvement in yield,» said Tiago Costa, president of Portugal Nuts.
This forecast was produced for Portugal Nuts – Associação Promoção Frutos Secos by Demeter, an international company specialising in agricultural value chain data and the publication of indices.
The study indicates that domestic almond production for 2026 is estimated at 114,900 tonnes in shell, equivalent to 34,470 tonnes of shelled almonds, representing a 39% increase compared with the previous season.
According to Tiago Costa, who was speaking to journalists at the end of a visit by the Minister for Agriculture to an almond shelling factory in Beja, this year's harvest began in mid-August and will end later, in mid-October.
«We are seeing a much higher yield than last year and the quality is very good,» he reiterated, noting that, alongside the «significant rise in price», 2026 is proving «favourable for producers».
Speaking to journalists, Costa acknowledged that some almond groves had already been cleared, without specifying the area involved, but emphasising that these were «relatively small areas».
«We have grown a great deal in a very short time, and it has not been possible to consolidate all the knowledge we ought to have about almonds, both at a technical and an operational level,» he stressed.
He noted that the sector is now «consolidating all this knowledge», adding that growth had been based on «information from abroad» which had been adapted to the country's reality.
«For this very reason, we are already seeing progress among many of our members and producers, and it is perfectly clear that they are no longer, in essence, working in the dark; this is reflected in both productivity and quality,» he emphasised.
He said that «there will probably be the usual fluctuations from year to year, with some older orchards being removed and replaced by others to make up for the loss».
«Stability is perhaps the most appropriate word for what needs to be invested in,» he added.
Established in 2019, Portugal Nuts now has just over 46 members, including producers and processors, who represent more than 20,000 hectares, the majority (95%) of which are almond orchards, in the south of the country and the Beira Interior region.
SM/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
