Agriculture: Spain becomes the leading pistachio grower in Europe

In Spain, producers and investors are getting into pistachios. In ten years, pistachio plants have grown from 3,000 to 60,000 hectares.

In the Toledo region of Spain, fields spread out. A new green gold is grown there: pistachio trees. Between his fields of vines and olive trees, Isidro Diaz Del Campo planted 40 hectares of them six years ago. In 2022, they gave for the first time enough fruit to be picked. He planted pistachio trees because these trees adapt better to climate change, he says, by withstanding cold winters and hot summers. For him, the pistachio is more profitable than olives or cereals.

Profitable production after a few years

Spain is now the first country in Europe to grow pistachios, ahead of Greece and Italy. It has increased from 3,000 hectares in 2012 to 60,000 hectares in 2022. This agricultural phenomenon is of interest to investors. Julio Fuentes thus invested 50,000 euros by buying two hectares where nearly 400 pistachio trees are planted. “After five or six years, production starts to become profitable,” he explains. A cooperative has been set up to sort, clean and dry the pistachios.