Almond Production in Alicante Surges, Doubling Last Year's Harvest with 16,500 Tonnes

After two disastrous years of ruinous almond campaigns due to drought and high temperatures, the 2025/26 campaign appears to be markedly different. This is evident from the data analysed by the Ministry of Agriculture and its production forecast for the current harvest of this nut, which has recovered from its dire situation.

This year, 2025, almond production in the province of Alicante will double that recorded just a year ago. The Ministry anticipates production to exceed 16,000 tonnes, whereas in 2024 it did not surpass 8,000 tonnes, and in 2023 it was only 7,000 tonnes.

The sector is bouncing back, overcoming a dire situation that threatened this iconic crop in the mountains of Alicante and beyond. In fact, the province will be the top producer this campaign in the Valencian Community, which is the fourth-largest almond-producing region in Spain, with 36,667 tonnes, only behind Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, and Catalonia.

Regarding cultivated area, according to the latest data from Agriculture, the province has 20,250 hectares of almond trees. The bulk of production will focus on irrigated land, with more than 10,000 of the 16,000 tonnes to be harvested in Alicante.

This is a good campaign, as valued by the president of the Association of Young Farmers (Asaja) of Alicante, José Vicente Andreu, who explains that "we come from two atrocious years and almond trees are greatly affected by drought, both in dry and irrigated lands, as it remains a support and it is crucial for rain." Andreu assures that in 2024 the drought was "brutal, very harsh in Alicante with almost zero dryland production."

In this regard, the president of Asaja explains that production "has recovered significantly after two disastrous campaigns." The spring rains, and the more recent ones in October due to the 'Alice' storm, have allowed the fruits to thrive. "Spring was very positive for setting, and pest incidence, such as the almond wasp, is being controlled and measures are being put in place," details Andreu, who also points to the problem of xylella, which has caused "the crop to almost disappear in the mountains of Alicante," an area that used to produce many tonnes. Other areas, like Vega Baja, where there are 2,000 hectares of dryland, are experiencing "very tough times."

Regarding field prices, they are also positive. "Contrary to what was expected, prices are higher than in previous campaigns, almost 20%," states the president of Asaja, who clarifies that "it's not that it has become expensive, but we had such low prices that we couldn't cover production costs, but now we are close to the optimal level and it is starting to be profitable."

This is also confirmed by José Daniel, a dryland almond farmer, who reaffirms the "good production" of this campaign after "a bad year." The Alicante farmer also assures that "prices have improved a bit and have risen in both regular and organic almonds." In this regard, José Daniel hopes that "prices hold and, if lucky, continue to rise."

Regarding almond foreign trade, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce, between January and August, almonds worth 170 million euros were exported, while imports are around 171 million euros. A balance that, if we look at the past 2024, could increase significantly and become positive, as last year, with a poor campaign, it was 48 million.

Regarding the national outlook, almonds had a positive balance in the previous campaign exceeding 300 million euros. A significant figure as it represents 90% of Spanish nut exports. Both European and non-EU destinations like Turkey or Egypt recorded increases of over 20%.