It is increasingly easy to see from the road a crop that had never been dominant in Spain: the pistachio

Its production volume is still far (far) from which the US, Iran or Türkiye, the heavyweights of the sector, but Spain is increasingly A pistachio country. And it has all the meaning that is so. Your cultivation adapts well to certain regions From the Iberian Peninsula and above all it offers background penguins to farmers, who have been planting hectares and more hectares of pistachers for years, hoping to cover a global market In full expansion.

“Many people have opted for this crop as a substitute for others less profitable, such as cereal,” They recognized Recently from the sector.

Pistacho “Made in Spain”. If it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, Castilla-La Mancha It probably leaves the best reflects the accelerated expansion of the pistachio cultivation in Spain. A walk comes through the province of Toledo to see hectares of soil that until not so ago they were dedicated to cereals or the grass of cattle and have now been converted into pistachio plantations.

Castilla-La Mancha agglutina more than 80% of the national surface and production of the fruit and has achieved put on the top 5 of the great pistache regions of the world. A few days ago, in a forum dedicated precisely to the pistachio, the regional government explained that the community already dedicates about 65,000 hectares to its cultivation and in 2023 reached the 5,600 tons of dry fruit with peel.

A figure: 78,500 ha. To understand how the speed has extended pistachio plantations in Spain, it is good to take a look at the report that the agricultural group dedicated last year Agrouptimum: If in 2016 there were barely 15,000 hectares dedicated to its cultivation, in 2022 that surface was already risen to 70,000 and in 2023 it touched 78,500, 68% in the dry land. Last season it is estimated that the 79,200 hawhich explains that the pistachio monopolizes 10.3% of the soil dedicated to producing nuts in Spain.

“Win by win”. The success of the pistachio among farmers, especially Castilla-La Mancha, is explained for a very simple reason: his juicy profits. He was openly recognized recently Juan Gallego Arroyo, founder of the Iberopistacho group, to electionomista.es: With gross bottling per hectare that leave a profitability between 10 and 20%, the pistachio is much more attractive to farmers than other traditional crops, including cereals.

“The pistachio wins by a win in terms of profitability within the crops in open and permanent. The comparison is with the olive tree, the almond or the vine, for example,” Clarify Galician. Translated into figures and according to the data handled by the manager, “with the pistachio plantations a gross hectare turnover is being achieved that can reach up to 12,000 euros in the case of using irrigation. In the case of dry dryland, we are between 5,000 and 6,000.”

“Very profitable alternative”. He is not the only one who has drawn attention to the benefits of this fruit, increasingly demadiated. In 2022 Balam Agriculture made A balance of the most profitable crops of the year looking for the income, expenses, investment and risks assumed. The list was listed by the plantations of olive groves, those of Almendros and (exact) those of pistacheros, which despite requiring a notable initial investment offers benefits and profitability in the medium term.

“Its high sale price, close to € 6/kg (with average production of 1,000 kg), as well as the increase in demand for this product, make it a very profitable alternative,” Balam stands out.

In optimal conditions, with intensive irrigation and in ecological pistachio crops, electionomista.es Precise that the annual income generated per hectare can even be higher and move between 8,000 and 10,000 euros. The final net profit is lower, but depending on the case, it ranges between 1,200 and more than 10,000.

A millionaire market. Although Spain is betting on the pistachio its production is far from what they reach Heavyweights of the cultivation, the USA, Iran and Türkiye, that a large part of the cake of a millionaire and growing business are distributed. Data Bridge estimates that market size reached 4,350 million of dollars in 2024 and will continue to grow to exceed 5,800 in a few years. There are consultants convinced that It won’t take long In passing that figure.

With that backdrop, Spain and more specifically regions Like Castilla-La Mancha, Andalusia, Extremadura, Aragon, Castilla y León or Catalonia, they are positioning themselves to participate in that world cake and The increase of domestic demand. “The evolution of pistachio cultivation in recent years has been very large,” Recognize To Efeagro Mario González, from Pistachopro. “Many people have opted for this crop as replacement for others less profitable.”

Images | USDA (Flickr), Marcos Paulo Prado (UNSPLASH) and Brad Spry (Flickr)

In Xataka | For more than a thousand years Spain was a world power in pistachio production. Then disappeared completely