US Pecans was followed by Mexico who gave an update on their increasing production as well as several recent successful trade missions.

Mexico was then followed by Mr. Alfons Visser of Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts in South Africa. Mr. Visser reported on the current production volume in South Africa and the coming increase in production from newly planted orchards not yet in production. Mr. Visser also commented about various producing regions of South Africa along with the climates of each and how the climates affect the meat yields in different parts of South Africa.

Finally, the pecan update was concluded by Mr. Liu Guangqin, researcher and professor of Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Mr. Liu updated about the current challenges and opportunities for pecan growers in China. Like other countries China too is increasing production, however many growers are still in a learning curve and many of the growers are struggling to adopt best practices in the management of orchards. However, some growers have adopted a method of pruning that is cutting time to production from an average of 8-10 years down to 5-6 years, and are now trying to get more growers to adopt these methods. Mr. Liu concluded the pecan update by complementing the US Pecan Growers Council and its leadership in the world market saying that “it is an example to be followed” for collaboration in the industry.