From the end of January to the beginning of March, more than 30 countries of the planet, in the northern hemisphere, and from May to July, the remaining 42 in the southern hemisphere, undergo a spectacular transformation. The almond blossoms awaken from a harsh winter, announcing the arrival of spring in a natural way. It is one of the first trees to bloom, synonymous with a return to life. Hence, the almond tree is called the tree that wakes up early, in Hebrew, the one that awakens.
That new life that we mentioned in the previous paragraphs was what motivated Vincent Van Gogh to paint his splendorous work Almond Blossom for his newborn nephew and godson, this work shows a luminous Van Gogh, full of optimism for the birth of the baby, who would be baptized with the name of Vincent.
Van Gogh painted this work during his stay at the Saint-Remy sanatorium, where he had been voluntarily committed three months before his death, leaving us this beautiful, imperturbable and timeless window to nature, commemorating the birth of little Vincent, whose name was chosen in honor of the painter, by Theo Van Gogh, Vincent’s brother, and his wife.
The almond tree is the ninth most important woody tree in terms of surface area, with a total of 2.2 million hectares covered worldwide. It accounts for just over 3% of the total area of the planet’s trees grown for food. It is 20% irrigated and 80% rainfed. It is a traditional crop, although more than a quarter are modern or canopy almond trees and just over 1% are grown as hedgerows.
Around 1.6 million tons of almond kernels are produced and consumed each year. The key players in terms of production are the United States, Australia and Spain. In terms of consumption, the United States, India and Spain, in order.
Internationally, the sector’s turnover is between 12 and 14 billion euros, depending on the season. It is, therefore, a strategic crop at the international level; and in Spain, since our country has the largest almond tree surface area in the world.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)