<p></p><p>Australian almond producers are boosting output to meet growing Asian demand for the nut used for making milk and eaten as a healthy snack, hoping to steal market share from dominant U.S. farmers struggling because of protracted drought in California.</p><p>Australia's production hit a record 80,000 tons in the 2014/15 season, government data shows, having grown 90 percent over the past four years. It is the world's second-biggest producer, although still way behind the United States. <br></p> <p>U.S. output, almost all of it from California, fell 7 percent last year, but its 848,000 tons accounted for the bulk of the world crop of 1 million tons, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Singapore-based Olam International (OLAM.SI), Australia's biggest almond producer, agreed a deal last month to develop 600 hectares (1,480 acres) of orchards in New South Wales, while Select Harvests Ltd (SHV.AX), the second largest, has plans to develop greenfield sites. <br></p> <p>"It is very easy to say the industry has only benefited from the California drought, but demand is still growing," said Paul Thompson, managing director of Select Harvests, expected by analysts to post its biggest profit in eight years in 2015. "You can see this everywhere as people realise that almonds are a great source of protein and contain no cholesterol, and in America now, almond milk is a bigger market than low-fat milk," he said.<br></p><p></p>