Groundnuts: Stocks
Why groundnuts cannot be stored like grain
What this tab covers How much is left and how much is held. For minerals and energy: reserves, current output, years of supply and recycling for the top five countries. For farm commodities: production, ending stocks and stocks-to-use for the top five producers (USDA, October 2026). It also covers inventories and stockpiles.Top five producers: production and stocks (USDA, 2026/27)
| Country | Production | Share | Ending stocks | Stocks-to-use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 18,000 | 35.9% | 0 | 0% |
| India | 7,500 | 15% | 428 | 5.7% |
| Nigeria | 5,300 | 10.6% | 508 | 9.6% |
| United States | 2,320 | 4.6% | 1,023 | 36.6% |
| Burma | 1,700 | 3.4% | 36 | 2.1% |
| World | 50,110 | 100% | 4,053 | 8.1% |
Stockholding and policy
No recycling applies. World ending stocks were 4.56 Mt in 2025/26, with the US holding 1.45 Mt (USDA PSD). India has no buffer stock norm for groundnut; NAFED and state agencies buy at MSP under the Price Support Scheme when mandi prices fall below it (MSP Rs 7,263/quintal in 2025-26 against an August 2025 national average market price of Rs 5,429) and sell the stocks later. USDA puts India's ending stocks at 403 kt for 2025/26.
Unlike the grains, groundnuts have no widely used world stocks-to-use benchmark from USDA's monthly WASDE balances. Groundnuts are semi-perishable. In-shell nuts keep best when cool and dry; shelled kernels turn rancid and can develop aflatoxin. Inventories therefore sit mostly with shellers, crushers and food makers rather than in long-term strategic reserves. Farm support programmes have built surpluses in the past; Morgan lists peanuts among the US farm surpluses of the post-war era (pdf p. 390). Edible-oil stocks in China and India act as a partial buffer.