WBRZ - Baton Rouge

NEW ROADS - Drought in parts of the South and an increase in demand from China is pushing the price of pecans higher. In response, one business in Pointe Coupee is doing what it can to make sure you can keep pecans in your budget.

Bergeron Pecan Company has been in business for more than 100 years. Located in New Roads, they process pecans year-round. The pecans are harvested in October, but the best time to buy and sell them is now according to pecan shopper Vivian Edwards.

"I'm just trying to get a good deal because I make candy for the holidays and I give them as gifts. I have to do it for as cheap as possible," said Edwards.

For Edwards, price matters. She drove from New Orleans to New Roads to purchase 30 pounds, and after shopping around she said Bergeron had the cheapest she could find.

"Yeah they're going to pay a little more this year. Right now we're retailing it at $8 a pound, last year we were at $7.50," said company owner Andre Bergeron.

That's still lower than the national average retail price of around $11 per pound. Andre said the reason they can charge less is because they don't export anything to China, and they buy their supply directly from local harvesters instead of a third-party company.

"We encourage people to pick the pecans, bring them here, we'll buy it and we'll sell it," said Bergeron, adding they pay anywhere from one to two dollars a pound.

Louisiana is estimated to produce 9 million pounds of pecans this year, more than half from Bergeron Pecan Company.