Almonds Rank Ahead Of Wine As California's Top Specialty Crop Export

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - California has around 68 hundred almond farms and produces billions of pounds of the tree nut a year.

Almonds are grown in 16 counties in the state. San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Colusa, Merced, Madera, Fresno, and Kern Counties produce the biggest almond crops, with each county growing upwards of 100 million pounds a year. Tulare, Butte, and Glenn Counties produce between 50 and 100 million pounds a year, while Yuba, Sutter, Yolo, Solano, Glenn, Kings, and Tehama Counties account for between 1 and 49 million pounds annually.

2017/2018 Almond Production (million pounds):

1. Fresno: 494.4
2. Kern: 429.5
3. Stanislaus: 303.2
4. Madera: 264.0
5. Merced: 223.7
6. Colusa: 112.9
7. San Joaquin: 108.7
8. Tulare: 80.9
9. Glenn: 72.6
10. Butte: 52.1
11. Kings: 43.6
12. Yolo: 39.7
13. Tehama: 18.6
14. Sutter: 8.7
15. Solano: 8.4

According to the Almond Board of California, almonds are shipped to more than 90 countries and Spain leads as the number one export market for California. It also ranks as the top specialty crop export by value (in millions):

1. Almonds: $4,481
2. Pistachios: $1,518
3. Wine; $1,463
4. Walnuts: $1,370
5. Frozen Potatoes: $1,174

In:
• San Joaquin County