A worker at Piste preparing pistachio rootstock in San Juan. — Photos: Reuters
In Argentina’s rapidly growing pistachio heartland, rows of trees bearing the ripening yellow fruit dot the dry landscape. It's a sign of how this agricultural region is striving to capitalise on its favourable climate to cash in on worldwide demand for the nut, which has been driven by the popularity of pistachio-filled Dubai chocolate.
The country's pistachio acreage has quintupled in the last five years to about 10,117ha, according to the National Network to Study Pistachio Trees in Argentina, formed by scientists in 2023. Most of the trees are in San Juan, a mining and farming province nestled against the Andes mountain range.
