Chilean walnut growers have a backs to the wall job ahead after more than 100mm of rain fell over the weekend, leading to estimates some 30,000 metric tons (MT) were affected.

In a release, the Association of Walnut Growers and Exporters (Chilenut) said around 33% of the crop had been severely damaged with harvests of the late variety Chandler suffering heavily over the weekend.

Out of the 30,000MT of the compromised Chandler walnuts, 10,000MT have "serious damages" while the remaineder have light-to-medium levels of damage.

It is estimated 2,000MT of the variety Serr experienced serious damages, while a further 4,000MT could be of a lower quality as a result of the weather event.

"The first consequence will be the impossibility of some exporters to be able to comply with shipping programs they'd agreed upon with their receivers in the first months of the year, especially those for whole halves," said Chilenut president Juan Luis Vial.

He said the association was surveying growers to measure volume impacts with more certainty, with hopes the rains forecast for this coming weekend are of a lower intensity that will allow for the picking and drying of walnuts that are still on the trees.

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