The USDA finally released its December cold storage data after a lapse in reporting due to the government shutdown. Despite the ongoing trade war between China and the US the cold storage numbers are in line with previous years and will likely lead to a shortage of pecans for the 2019 pecan season. As we entered the 2018 back in September you may remember that the US Pecan industry was entering the season already over committed on future pecan deliveries, now with the loss of more than 50 million pounds of pecans in the Southeastern market, US shellers have imported record amounts of pecans from Mexico in order to supply the demand created by US Pecan farmers. Over the last 19 years the US Pecan Growers Council funded by US growers has done a great job increasing demand for pecans around the globe and now with a shortage of pecans on the market, exports and domestic shellers may be hard pressed to find the pecan supply they need to fulfill contracts. Even while Mexican pecans flood the US market at record levels, this still may not be enough, and based on the previous years growing demand it looks like the global pecan supply may come up short this year.