Top 10 Most Expensive Dry Fruits in the World

We all love dry fruits; they are nutritious and yummy at the same time. They are a quick-fix meal that you can have anywhere, anytime! There’s a nice quote that says – “A handful of dried fruits a day keeps the cravings at bay!”

Including different types of dry fruits in your regular diet can create a significant impact on your health & lifestyle. Dry fruits are a rich source of so many essential nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and dietary fibres.

Dry fruits are helpful in keeping our system healthy and stave off many diseases from our lives! It’s best to consume dry fruits and nuts in the early mornings before having your breakfast, however you can even consume them in between your meals.

To get the most benefits out of them, always soak the dry fruits overnight and then consume them the next morning. They make a delicious & healthy snack that you can munch on or add to your favourite dessert recipes such as Doodh Pak, Orange Halwa, Bajra Halwa, and more.

Despite our fondness for dry fruits & their nutritional value, are you aware that there are certain types of dry fruit that are too expensive when compared to others? In this blog today, we will be discussing the most expensive dry fruits in the world in detail. Let’s check them out!

List Of Top 10 Most Expensive Dry Fruits In The World

1) Macadamia Nuts

Macadamia nuts top the list of most expensive dry fruits in the world, and they are grown on Macadamia trees, which are specifically found in South Africa, Australia and the Western Pacific region. Macadamia nuts are native to Australia, and largely grown in Queensland, where they are considered to be the key agricultural product of the state.

Beyond their unique and delicious taste, they are fully packed with antioxidants, proteins, minerals & fibres! Also, the reason behind these nuts being super expensive is that to grow these nuts on the macadamia tree, it takes approx. 8 to 10 long years.

Moreover, Macadamia nuts have thick shells (that are removed before selling them), which makes the task of differentiating between ripe & unripe nuts a challenging one! Subsequently, this makes the process of harvesting expensive, time-consuming and labour-intensive. Plus, there is a huge demand for macadamia nuts all over the world, but the supply is limited.

2) Pine Nuts

Pine nuts are the edible kernels that are extracted from the pine cone of the pine tree. There are more than different types of pine trees all over the world growing different varieties of pine nuts. Pine nuts have a crunchy and buttery texture, which is delightfully sweet & delicious.

Pine nuts are a great source of proteins and fats, which makes them an amazing nutritious snack to consume. These specific nuts are majorly utilized in Asian as well as European cuisines. They serve as versatile ingredients that are utilized to make different types of food or added as an ingredient to enhance the flavour and texture of different dishes.

They are the second-most expensive dry fruits in the world because pine trees naturally grow in forest environments, and it takes them a minimum of 25 to 50 years to come up with cones & seeds. Harvesting pine nuts from the pine trees is a difficult task that encompasses climbing a 100-foot tree, eventually resulting in high labour costs.

Moreover, as the majority of pine trees are grown in forests, the yield tends to vary significantly every year. As a consequence, the demand for pine nuts exceeds supply, increasing their price! Also, there’s a high demand for pine nuts all across the world, and it is going to increase more in the future.

3) Almonds

Who isn’t familiar with almonds? Every one of us enjoys having almonds on a daily basis and likes to add them to our favourite dishes! They are the most popular dry fruits in the world. They are great to taste and fully loaded with essential nutrients, minerals and vitamins.

When it comes to almond trees, they actually take a lot of time to begin with the production of almonds, and it generally takes approx. 5 years! Moreover, it can require 12 long years for an almond tree to be capable of producing some great & different varieties of almonds.

There is always a high demand for almonds in the market, but the supply? The supply is relatively low because of their slow production process & they just can’t grow in any climate! And that’s the reason why they are highly priced dry fruits. Mamra, a variety of almonds, is the most costly one because of their limited availability, constituting just 4% of its overall production.

4) Chestnuts

Chestnuts are one of the most expensive as well as nutritious nuts all over the world. They are a great source of vitamins & minerals, which include Vitamin C, Manganese, Magnesium, Thiamine, Riboflavin and Pantothenic Acid. Also, chestnuts are widely recognized for being high in antioxidants. Chestnuts are gluten-free, vegan, hypoallergenic, and non-GMO. The best part is that they can be digested easily.

5) Cashews

Cashew nuts are too yummy to eat, and they are the healthiest nuts as they are a great source of protein and various other nutrients! Cashew kernels grow on a cashew tree that is typically found in tropical regions around the world, such as India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Cashews are the fifth most expensive dry fruits in the world. This is so because the harvesting of cashews can only be done once a year. Also, when it comes to unprocessed cashews, they contain the toxin named “urushiol”, which can have various side effects.

Therefore, cashews need to be processed extensively when compared to other types of nuts. Moreover, to cultivate cashews, there should be appropriate climate conditions, and the quality as well as quantity of the cashews can be impacted due to heavy rainfall. The demand for cashews is always high, which impacts its cost.

6) Walnuts

Walnuts are edible seeds of the walnut tree, and are enclosed in a hard shell that is further layered with a thin brown-coloured skin. Walnuts are of higher price when compared to other types of nuts. These nuts come in different shapes and sizes, and the most common type of walnuts are grown in China and North America.

Walnuts are widely utilized to make walnut oil, for cooking many dishes, for garnishing purposes, or just eating them as a snack. Walnuts contain high nutritional value and are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids. They are a great source of vitamin E, fibre and protein.

Walnuts are also a part of this list, and the reason behind this is that their demand is always soaring high while the yield is not enough to meet the requirements. To produce walnuts, they demand a specific climatic condition, and these nuts are generally picked in the months of September & October.

Moreover, the harvesting of walnuts can only be done once a year. The production process of walnuts is labour-intensive, which results in high labour expenses. All these reasons justify the fact that walnuts are too pricey, but trust me; they are worth it!

7) Brazil Nuts

Brazil nuts are actually seeds that are enclosed in a tough shell. The Brazil nut trees are considered to be one of the longest-lived trees within the Amazon rainforest. The tree of Brazil nuts is primarily found in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador.

The trees of Brazil nuts are too tall, and they take many years to mature properly, which makes them difficult to harvest. Brazil nuts are majorly produced in Bolivia, which accounts for more than 50% of the overall production.

But have you ever wondered why these nuts are so expensive? This is so because manual harvesting is required for Brazil nuts. These nuts come from the tree named “Bertholletia excelsa”, that are specifically found in the Amazon rainforest. To find them and collect the nuts is a time-consuming task and laborious.

In addition, Brazil nuts have thicker shells that are not easy to crack open, and they can be opened using hands, which again is time-consuming and laborious. Despite all these challenges & difficulties, Brazil nuts stand out as a great source of mineral selenium. They have a pleasantly nutty, buttery and creamy flavour, quite similar to macadamia nuts.

8) Pecan Nuts

Pecan nuts are produced by a variety of hickory trees, which is a deciduous tree found in the midwestern location of North America. Pecan nuts are the most famous and liked nuts in the United States, and they are generally consumed in a roasted or baked form.

Pecan nuts are expensive because pecan trees take 8 to 10 years to grow the amazing pecan nuts. Plus, the harvesting process of pecan nuts is often disturbed by the bad climatic conditions that result in them being expensive. The production that goes into harvesting pecan nuts is quite intensive, and that’s what makes it more expensive.

Pecan nuts are always in high demand because of their nutritional value. Moreover, pecan trees are not easy to grow, and they are costly as they take a long time to get mature & ready to eat. Besides, pecan nuts are flavourful and nutritious; that’s the reason to try them out!

9) Hazelnuts

Hazelnuts are also called filberts, and they are actually the edible seeds grown in the hazel tree. The outer layer of the hazelnuts is quite hard, and before consuming it, the skin should be peeled off.

Hazelnuts offer a lot of health benefits and are often utilized to make ice creams, cakes, pastries, brownies, pasta, and the most famous chocolate spread, Nutella. They have a crunchy texture and sweet & nutty flavour, which is adored by all of us.

Hazelnuts are expensive because of many reasons, such as they are carefully hand-picked and harvested within a limited timeframe. Hazelnuts are cultivated in countries like Greece & Turkey, and they require optimal growing conditions.

This makes their cultivation and harvesting process quite challenging. Despite them being expensive, hazelnuts have become increasingly popular in recent years, but you must give them a try!

10) Pistachios

Pistachios are considered to be one of the best nuts, but when it comes to their production, it’s quite expensive! These nuts are loaded with essential nutrients like dietary fibre, protein & antioxidants. They are quite popular across the world. Pistachios are usually used for garnishing desserts or any other dishes.

Pistachios are too costly to purchase as they can only be found in very few regions, and the Pistacia Vera tree requires particular weather conditions to grow. The tree requires almost 4 to 5 years to produce fruit and needs at least 15 to 20 years to reach maximum almond production.

Talking about demand, pistachios are always high in demand, but their low production & labour-intensive process make them really expensive. Despite their costly nature, they are worth purchasing.

Conclusion

So, these were the most expensive dry fruits in the world. All these dry fruits mentioned above aren’t just yummy to eat, but they take a lot of hard work to grow! They are high in price because they actually reflect all the efforts invested to get these dry fruits from farms to our tables.

Whether all of us are munching them on for their unique flavours or because of their nutritional value that makes them extremely healthy for us, these expensive dry fruits give us a sneak-peak into the world of luxury & healthy lifestyles. They are the everyday treats that can make our lives much more enthusiastic! Don’t forget to buy these dry fruits next time, and let me tell you, they are worth trying!

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