Pistachios are a healthy food that almost everyone loves. These beans are very tasty and suitable as desserts, pastas, salads, and are also great for cakes.
There are many ways to chew them and taste the amazing pistachios. But there’s bad news heard coming from pistachios fans, what is it? Can you guess, of course it is a matter of price. The price of pistachios is very expensive so that it discourages us from being able to taste pistachios every day.
Pistachios are said to be one of the most expensive nuts on the planet. In fact, it is included in the 10 most expensive types of nuts. Macadamia nuts are a fairly high-priced nut, this is at $25 per pound. While the second and third positions are occupied by almonds and pine nuts.
Pistachios as one of the most expensive nuts have made many fans overwhelmed to be able to enjoy them easily. Why are pistachios prices so high? We will explain this in this article, so read on until the end.
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Freshener Used on Pistachios
Actually, pistachios are not nuts, they are just seeds that have been or have been passed down for generations to be everyone’s delicacy and snack. For thousands of years, pistachios have become a favorite snack for many people. At first the pistachios tree was found in West Asia and the seeds have been enjoyed by humans since 7000 years BC.
Then in the 1800s the pistachios plant came to America and became a popular plant because the seeds could be eaten.
For now, pistachios cultivation can be found easily in Arizona, California and Mexico. Pistachios seeds come in beautiful colors of green and yellow with purplish skin.
Pistachios Are So Expensive, Here’s Why!
Growing or becoming a pistachios farmer is quite a challenge, so don’t be surprised if the price is very challenging too, the price is very expensive because of the difficulty of cultivating this plant. Sometimes you are surprised to see the price of pistachios in food stores. But this makes sense and there is a rational reason for this.
Ok, now let’s see and pay attention to the main reason why the price of pistachios is so high.
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1. Pistachios need special weather conditions
Growing pistachios is not like growing other crops, it needs special weather, otherwise this plant will not be able to grow.
but this plant is not fussy, it can tolerate medium-quality soil, it’s just that it needs the right weather and is suitable for its growth. If the weather is not suitable, then this will affect his growth, even he can not grow.
He needs a pretty good drainage system, so many of these plants are planted on the slopes of the mountain. This means he needs good, porous soil, not dense soil with moisture.
The plant grows and thrives in cold weather, the ideal temperature for this plant growth is below 45 F, this plant should spend at least 1000 hours in a cold place every year.
In addition to winter, this plant also needs summer to grow and develop. The length of summer he needs is the same as he needs winter. So, it needs sufficient hours in low humidity and fresh sunlight to ripen its kernels well enough so that it can go to good maturity.
Well, after we take a quick look, it turns out that pistachio plants require very special weather conditions. So this plant can only grow in certain places in the world. California is the country that produces the best and most pistachios in the world. While in the second position is Iran. Then Syria, China and Turkey are also among the countries with the most pistachio producers.
To put it more fully, for a place as it is usually grown, it is in zones 9a and 9b in America. This planting place is also good for growing other crops so you can get two benefits.
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2. Pistachios take a long time to grow
So, it’s obvious that the main reason pistachios are so expensive is their difficult cultivation method. Not only difficult to plant, pistachios also take a long time to bear fruit, it takes 5 years from planting to produce fruit.
But there is something extraordinary, when the pistachio tree is 15 to 20 years old, the plant will produce a massive harvest or known as mass production. Pistachio seeds from female trees can produce nearly 40-42 pounds of seeds at each harvest. While male trees only produce about 15% of fruit.
Most male pistachio plants are pollinated because they produce small plants. The production of pistachio seeds is highly dependent on the weather. If the weather is unfavorable and unsuitable, the pistachio plant will not experience fertilization, it will continue to grow but without producing pistachio fruit.
After producing fruit, female pistachio plants need sufficient time to be able to replenish fruit and yield for the next time. Thus, the pistachio harvest period is only once a year.
Well, overall this sounds like a pistachio plant is very slow, and this is also a rational reason why pistachios have a very expensive price. Pistachio farmers cannot afford if a year does not experience a harvest or harvest but with a smaller amount than last year.
3. Pistachios require skilled labor
In the United States, pistachios are processed using machines and skilled labor in operating agricultural machinery.
Not only that, but pistachios must also be selected by sorting them by hand to be able to get quality seeds to be packaged and sold. That is why pistachios are very expensive in the market. This is the last thing and factor why pistachios are expensive foods.
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4. High demand for pistachios
Last but not least, the market demand for pistachios is very high and this also pushes the price up. Pistachios are nuts that are in high demand and the most widely used, including those that are in high demand in the market are almonds and cashews. Every day it is widely used in salads, cakes, desserts, ice cream, cupcakes and so on.
In addition, pistachios are very nutritious and useful nuts for every human being because of the high health benefits of pistachios. Everyone who is health conscious, he doesn’t think the price is high to get good quality. So, these are some of the reasons why pistachios are everyone’s favorite snack and this makes them even more expensive.
Bottom Line
Pistachios are very delicious and very nutritious nuts, even including the most nutritious food among various other types of nuts.
The process of planting and harvesting is very complex, they use tools and machines using skilled harvesting machine operators. This is the reason why pistachios are very expensive in the market. The crispness is amazing and the nutrition is also very high.
That’s a little about the pistachios plant, why it is expensive and why this food is very popular in the world. Delicious, crunchy, nutritious and one of the healthiest foods among nuts and seeds.
