As the 2017 pecan nut harvest season continues, pecan buyers around the globe continue to scour the southern United States to purchase pecans both in-shell and shelled. This year has seen many new buyers to the market, as many growers have reported having numerous new buyer inquiries and purchases. The pecan nut industry is also seeing a new influx of small to medium size shellers entering the market, and not a moment too soon. The current shelling capacity of the pecan nut industry is not nearly enough to support the current demand. As growers increase the plantings, more shelling capacity is also desperately needed. Another new player to the game is Turkey. The country of Turkey was targeted several years back by the US Pecan Growers in one of their many MAP funded trade missions and seems to be paying large dividends to growers. The country of Turkey seems to have developed a taste for pecans and has increased imports of US Pecan nuts ever since. Several exporters say that their customers in Turkey have been slowly increasing imports of pecan nuts and now there seems to be more competition in the country from other buyers. “The biggest concern now is making sure that we can continue to fill these orders.”