Almonds, cashews and pecans may be some of the easiest nuts to crack in order for China to fulfil its pledge to buy more US agricultural products.

China is likely to purchase about $2.5 billion worth of American nuts a year as part of its phase one trade deal with the US, according to influential agriculture consultant Shanghai JC Intelligence Co. That is more than it’s expected to spend on key American produce like corn, wheat and even pork, which China needs a lot of, according to JCI estimates.

Beijing and Washington agreed on the first phase of a trade deal last week that would see China buy $40-50 billion in American farm products. That sent market watchers scrambling to draw up lists of what the Asian nation could import as sceptics debate over the feasibility of such large purchases.

While soyabeans, grains and pork are widely expected to be part of the purchases, nuts may come as a surprise to those who are unaware of China’s love for the hard little snack. Almonds, pistachios and macadamia nuts are popular among the Chinese, who regard them as health foods. China’s imports of tree nuts grew 20 per cent a year over the past decade, with the sales value of the trade forecast to rise to $13.3 billion by 2020, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Despite hefty retaliatory tariffs on American nuts, China actually boosted shipments of US pistachios and almonds last year.

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