California Growers See Dramatic Drop In Walnut Prices

California growers have seen a dramatic drop in walnut prices more than 50 percent for some varieties and supply has outpaced demand.

Almost all walnuts grown in the U.S. come from California and San Joaquin County led the state last year with a half billion dollar crop.

But now prices have dropped below half of what they were a year ago, and some growers doubt the crop will cover the cost of production. 

Stockton walnut grower Paul Sanguinetti has 175 acres of walnuts and says the market has changed in just a few months. 

"China's got problems, they used to buy a lot of walnuts from us,” says Sanguinetti. “And then I think Chile and some of those South American countries had a nice crop of walnuts so there's a lot of competition out there with a strong dollar makes our product too expensive."

According to Sanguinetti, growers will have to sell at lower prices to empty their warehouses but consumers won't see much of a price drop at the retail level.