The State - News from Sept. 9, 1988

The Russians are coming to Sacramento to pick up 15 million pounds of almonds. A Soviet ship is scheduled to load the cargo of almonds, worth about $20 million--the biggest almond deal in California history--officials said. “They use them primarily for chocolate bars,” said a spokesman for Blue Diamond, the cooperative exporting the nuts. The deal represents almost two-thirds of California’s almond exports to the Soviet Union this year. “The Soviets have become a very good customer for California almonds because of the versatility and our competitive prices,” said Walt Payne, Blue Diamond vice president.