Southern Matrons and Christmas Hosts Across America Weep Thanks To China Nut Fiends

Give me those nuts!

In my many years of living, working and doing business in China I have seen countless ways in which Chinese manufacturing and consumer consumption have changed the world.

Not just the obvious examples but the small, subtle ways as well.

Take for example the cobbler on the Upper West Side who I send my shoes to. Years ago he complained to me how badly his business had fallen off. He couldnt understand why things had been going so poorly for him, so fast. People still wore shoes? The hippies didnt win on that one right?

His problem, it turned out, was that shoes that used to be made in Europe or the US that retailed for $300 now cost only $75 at retail, thanks to Chinese production.

At $300 people would spend the money to resole and repair. At $70 they would be paying only slighlty more for a new pair. Thus my cobbler friends precipitous drop in business.

Which brings me to this headline from todays Voice of America:

Chinese Taste for Pecans Raises Price in US

A holiday tradition in many parts of the United States will cost more than it has in many years this holiday season. It is pecan pie.

It seems as though the Chinese have taken a huge liking to the uniquely American tree nut that is the main ingredient of the treat.

China has taken so much of the US production of pecans that it has driven up the price here, and that has many, including some pecan producers, worried.

Jeff Worn, the Vice President of the South Georgia Pecan Company in Valdosta, Georgia, one of the largest pecan producers in the world, says the Chinese bought about 31 to 36 million kilograms last year, a third of the entire US pecan crop last year. H! e says t hat has raised the price of pecans precipitously.

In [20]09, you were looking at pecans for sale in supermarkets in the US at $7 [per pound], $9 last year. This year, theyre selling at $11 a pound.

Worn says the health benefits of pecans have lead to their recent popularity. The reason for its popularity is the health benefits they provide, more, he said, than the most popular tree nut in China, the walnut.

As far as the traditional holiday pecan pie in the United States, Worn says there is talk of price hikes from 20 to 25 percent due to the price hikes.

So there it is, China is changing the balance of econmic and political power in the world and while they are at it, grinching Americans on their beloved holiday season Pecan Pies.