Groundnuts: Overview
Oil, peanut butter and cattle cake from one legume
What this tab covers What the commodity is used for, why, in what volumes and with what alternatives, and its chain from mine or field to end user. Also the latest price moves, top recent news, three things to know, and buttons into each tab.Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct food: roasted and salted nuts, peanut butter, confectionery, snacks, chikki, cooking ingredient | 48.1% | 23.9 Mt in 2025/26; China 7.58 Mt, Nigeria 2.98 Mt, India 1.65 Mt, US 1.44 Mt, Indonesia 1.18 Mtbasis | Groundnuts are a cheap, protein-rich and calorie-dense food that stores well in the shell. Large, uniform kernels with low aflatoxin earn premiums from confectioners and peanut butter makers, which is why export-grade Indian bold and Java types are graded and blanched before sale. USDA PSD, October 2026 | Tree nuts (almonds, cashews) Sunflower and pumpkin seeds Soy-based snacks |
| Crushing for groundnut oil and cake | 38.9% | 19.3 Mt crushed in 2025/26, giving 6.31 Mt of oil; China 9.7 Mt and India 4.0 Mt of crushbasis | Groundnut oil has a nutty flavour and a high smoke point, and is a traditional cooking oil in China, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and West Africa. Filtered groundnut oil sells at a premium to imported palm and soybean oil, so crushing takes lower-grade nuts while bold kernels go to food and export. USDA PSD, October 2026 | Soybean oil Sunflower oil Palm olein Mustard and cottonseed oil (India) |
| Feed, seed and waste | 13% | 6.45 Mt in 2025/26; Nigeria 1.5 Mt, China 0.98 Mt, India 0.8 Mtbasis | Groundnuts are planted from kernels, so seed takes a large share of the crop (heavier than most oilseeds). Losses in storage and shelling, and haulms and cake fed to cattle, add to this line. USDA PSD, October 2026 | Soybean and cottonseed meal (feed) |
| Groundnut meal (cake) for animal feed | n/a | n/a basis | De-oiled groundnut cake is a high-protein feed for cattle, buffalo and poultry in India, China and West Africa, and it is sold locally by crushers. Aflatoxin contamination limits its export to the EU and other strict markets, so most of it is used near where it is made. Qualitative | Soybean meal Rapeseed meal Cottonseed meal |
| Exported kernels (India, Argentina, US, China, Brazil) | n/a | World exports 4.96 Mt in 2025/26; Argentina 1.15 Mt, India 1.0 Mt, China 0.8 Mt, US 0.63 Mtbasis | Indonesia, Vietnam, China, the EU and Mexico import groundnuts for snacks and confectionery. India sells mostly to Asian buyers (Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia) on price; Argentina and the US supply the EU, where aflatoxin rules are strictest. USDA PSD, October 2026; UN Comtrade 2024 | Domestic supply in importing countries |
From field to user
- Sowing Mostly kharif (June-July) with the monsoon in India; summer crop in China and the US South; Argentina plants in Cordoba province in spring.
- Growing and harvest Pods develop underground and are lifted, dried in the field and threshed. India produced 13.07 Mt in 2025-26 (3rd advance estimate), 87% of it in kharif.
- Drying and storage Pods must be dried quickly and kept dry to prevent Aspergillus mould, which produces aflatoxin.
- Marketing Farmers sell in mandis (Rajkot, Junagadh, Gondal in Gujarat) or to NAFED at MSP, Rs 7,263/quintal in 2025-26.
- Shelling, grading and blanching Shellers separate kernels by count per ounce; export lots are sorted, blanched and tested for aflatoxin.
- Crushing or export Lower grades go to expellers and solvent plants in Saurashtra; bold kernels are exported from Mundra and Kandla to Asia.
- End users Households, snack and confectionery makers, peanut butter plants, oil packers, cattle feeders.
Price movement snapshot 2026-10-25
Groundnuts (World Bank monthly) 1,563 $/mt Month 2026-09 1 week no daily price 6 months +25.0% World production 57.6 m tonnes, 2024 Largest producer China 34.07% of worldThree things to know
- Argentina, absent from the top six producers, was the largest groundnut exporter by value in 2024, with 22.7% (UN Comtrade, HS 1202).
- China grows about a third of the world's groundnuts yet was still the largest importer, with 17.3% of import value in 2024.
- World groundnut exports were worth about $3.9 billion in 2024, under a tenth of maize's $44.3 billion (UN Comtrade).
Top recent news snapshot 2026-10-25, last 30 days
- To save water, agri varsity seeks ground for groundnut in PunjabThe Times of India · 2026-10-05
- Festive demand drives grocery prices higher across JamshedpurThe Times of India · 2026-10-06