State’s Walnut Sales Are Booming Overseas

VISALIA —  Sales of California walnuts in the United States are static, but the commodity is booming abroad, industry officials say.

In fact, the United States isn’t the No. 1 consumer of in-shell California walnuts any longer, Turner Oyloe, executive director of the California Walnut Commission told southern San Joaquin Valley growers at a meeting in Visalia. Shipments to West Germany from the 1988 harvest totaled 35.1 million pounds, compared to 34.3 million pounds sold in the domestic market, he said.