Macadamia nuts

Introduction

  • Macadamia trees have similar soil and climatic requirements to avocado trees and are a suitable replacement crop for avocados. Macadamias originated in subtropical eastern Australia, Indonesia and New Caledonia.
  • Macadamia tree takes five to twelve years to produce nuts and a good tree can produce nuts for 40 years. The trees require a hot subtropical climate without much humidity. Macadamias are now widely used in the confectionery, baking, ice cream and snack food industries.
  • Macadamia oil’s rich, cushiony skin feel and high oxidative stability make it especially suitable for heavy creams and sun care formulations. Medical research has shown that the consumption of macadamias may significantly lower the risk of heart disease.
  • Macadamia nuts have a sweet taste and are a super source of energy. They also contain large amounts of vitamin A and iron, as well as zinc and calcium.
  • Raw macadamias have been awarded the South African heart mark as an approved part of the Heart and Stroke Foundation healthy eating plan. They can be eaten raw or roasted.
Source: the Southern African Macadamia Growers’ Association (SAMAC) website, www.samac.org.za and the DALRRD publication A Profile of the South African Macadamia Nut Market Value Chain (see "Websites & publications" heading).

Contents

Contents

International business environment
Local business environment
For the newcomer
National strategy and government contact
Role players
Websites and publications

International business environment

  • Almonds at 31% lead the global tree nut industry. Macadamias make up only 1% (SAMAC, 2021) (see the “Tree nut” page for more).
  • South Africa, Kenya and Australia are the largest producers of macadamia nuts.
  • The World Macadamia Organisation (WMO) was formed in 2021. See www.worldmacadamia.com.
  • The Southern African Macadamia Growers’ Association (SAMAC) works closely with other African macadamia producing countries like Kenya and Malawi, also major macadamia producers, and Zimbabwe. Macadamia nuts are also grown in Brazil, United States of America (especially Hawaii), Israel, China, Swaziland, New Zealand, Colombia and Guatemala.

Further reference:

 

South Africa: imports and exports

There is an export standard on all inshell macadamia nuts, which means every consignment is inspected by the Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB). Download the standard at www.samac.org.za/standards/.

More than 98% of South Africa’s macadamia produce is exported. According to figures received from the South African Revenue Service, the total value of macadamia exports in 2020 was R4.8 billion. A breakdown of exports is included among the information at www.samac.org.za/industry-statistics.

Local business environment

  • Mpumalanga (44%), KwaZulu-Natal (28%) and Limpopo (20%) are the major production regions in South Africa.
  • When the growth by the number of trees sold is taken into consideration, approximately 50 133 ha of macadamias have been established in South Africa. Macadamia production has increased dramatically and the rate of production is expected to increase even more in the near future due to an exponential increase in new plantings annually.
  • Annual production has increased from 1 211 tonnes in 1991 to 54 174 tonnes in 2021. The export value has increased from R32 million in 1996 to approximately R4.8 Billion in 2020.
  • Some 700 farmers grow macadamia nuts. Several of these are GlobalGAP and SIZA accredited and most cracking facilities are HACCP and/or ISO 9001 accredited. This ensures full traceability for customers and supplies fast feedback to farmers of quality.
  • Employment has been placed at some 13 857 full-time workers in the macadamia industry, 12 684 of these on macadamia farms. An additional 13 647 seasonal (temporary) workers help when harvesting and processing happens (February to August).
  • Information on cultivars, kernel recovery, historical macadamia production figures and more can be found at www.samac.org.za/industry-statistics.
Source: www.samac.org.za/industry-statistics/ and previous notes on the SAMAC website.

 

For the newcomer

  • Readers are invited to contact SAMAC for detailed grower information on soil and climatic requirements, temperature, altitude, rainfall, wind, cultivars, planting distances and densities, and fertilising.
  • Various grower guides are available under the “Resource centre” option at www.dalrrd.gov.za. Examples include “Nuts: Cultivating macadamias”.

National strategy and government contact

Macadamias are an important crop for the country, having high-growth-potential while also being labour intensive (Sihlobo, 2018). The National Development Plan singled out the nut sector as one of the smaller, labour- intensive industries with huge expansion and labour creation potential. The BFAP Baseline 2019 noted that pecans and macadamias were among those industries that have already expanded beyond the targets of the NDP (BFAP, 2019).

  • Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) (i) Directorate Marketing (ii) Directorate International Trade www.dalrrd.gov.za
  • National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) www.namc.co.za A statutory levy exists for macadamia growers
  • Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB) www.ppecb.com

Role players

Associations

Southern African Macadamia Growers’ Association (SAMAC) www.samac.org.za

The Southern African Grain Laboratory

 

Training, research and services

Information on macadamia research can be read at www.samac.org.za/research-and-development.

Companies

Find the list of SAMAC affiliated nurseries at www.samac.org.za/nurseries.

Find the general tree nut traders on the “Tree nuts” page.

Websites and publications

Visit the websites listed earlier on this page.

 

 

Some articles

 

 

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