Brazil nut exports surge to $6.5 million in two months

Brazil nuts are back at the center of Acre’s economic agenda in 2026, driven not only by favorable conditions in external markets but, above all, by the decisive role of agro-extractive cooperatives. These organizations structure the supply chain, organize production and enable access to markets, allowing the state to expand exports and benefit from stronger international prices. In this context, the recent performance underscores the strategic role of cooperativism as a pillar of Acre’s forest-based economy.

Acre nut exports soar in 2026, but further gains still hinge on more processing and market diversification

Acre’s nut exports grew between 2020 and 2025, though with some fluctuations. Total export value rose from about $3.6 million in 2020 to $12.4 million in 2025, with a more balanced split between shelled and in-shell nuts in 2021 and 2024. In other years, exports were dominated by unprocessed product.

The standout year is 2026: in the first two months alone, Acre has already exported about $6.5 million, more than half the total recorded in 2025 and above the full-year result for 2023. The start of the year points to a new record.

Even so, the export profile remains a concern: about 97% of shipments are concentrated in in-shell nuts, indicating limited value addition. The trade geography reinforces that contrast: in-shell nuts are shipped almost exclusively to Peru, with 90.5%, and Bolivia, with 9.4%, while shelled nuts reach more diversified and demanding markets, led by the United States, with 54.9%, in addition to Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Datamar container movement data shows that Brazil exported 107 TEUs of shelled Brazil nuts (HS code 0801.22.00) in 2025. The following chart provides an overview of the monthly progression recorded for Brazilian exports of this commodity:

Shelled Brazil Nut Exports | Jan 2022 – Jan 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Export prices for Acre nuts jump in 2026, reaching their highest early-year levels since 2020

The evolution of average export prices shows a decline through 2023 and a strong recovery beginning in 2024. In-shell nuts rose from $0.77 per kg in 2023 to $2.91 per kg in 2026, the highest value in the series.

Shelled nuts, meanwhile, continue to command higher prices and reached a record in 2026 at $14.30 per kg. In short, there is a recent and consistent upward price trend, benefiting both unprocessed and, even more strongly, processed product.

International nut prices are more than three times the level paid to collectors, highlighting the challenge of raising incomes at the base of the chain

A comparison between Acre’s average export price for nuts in 2026 and the amount paid to collectors shows important differences along the supply chain. In January and February 2026, the average export price for in-shell nuts reached about $2.91 per kg, reflecting a period of strong gains in the international market.

At the production level, according to data from the Xapuri Agro-Extractive Cooperative, member collectors in the 2025/2026 crop received the equivalent of about $0.90 per kg, based on an average price of 85 reais per 18-kg can and an exchange rate of 5.25 reais per dollar. That means the export price was more than three times the amount paid to producers.

That gap does not represent margin alone, but reflects the intermediate costs and stages in the chain, including logistics, processing, standardization, storage, transport and international marketing. Even so, the figure shows there is room to increase value capture at origin, especially by strengthening cooperatives, expanding industrial processing and achieving more direct access to export markets.

In summary, the favorable international price environment in 2026 opens a window of opportunity to raise extractivist incomes, provided there is progress in productive organization and value addition, both central elements for consolidating Acre’s new agro-extractive cooperative model.

Rising nut exports in 2026 reinforce the strategic role of cooperatives

Export performance at the start of 2026 reaffirms the new agro-extractive cooperative model as a central pillar of Acre’s forest economy. Cooperatives are the organizations that structure the supply chain, organize production, ensure scale and connect extractivists to markets, allowing the state to benefit from favorable international prices and demand.

However, the comparison between the export price, about $2.91 per kg, and the amount paid to collectors, around $0.90 per kg, shows that most of the value is still captured away from the production base. Although that difference includes logistics, industrial and commercial costs, it also highlights room to raise extractivists’ incomes by strengthening cooperatives.

In that context, the strategic challenge for cooperativism is not only to expand volume, but also to advance value addition, especially through nut processing and more direct access to demanding markets. The more organized and integrated cooperative action becomes, the greater the producer’s share of the chain’s final value is likely to be.

Source: AC 24 horas

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