From zero to hero – KZN cracks macadamia nut game
THE macadamia industry is alive and flourishing in South Africa, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal. So said Philip Lee, of CompleteLee Nuts Consulting at last week’s Intensive Growers’ Association bi-annual symposium at Cedara Agricultural College.
Lee, one of several distinguished speakers at the conference, provides consultancy services to a broad spectrum of macadamia producers worldwide, and has four decades of experience in the business to back up his credentials. With honorary life membership of the Southern African Macadamia Growers Association (SAMAC), and former board membership/presidency/executive directorship of this association, there’s little he doesn’t know about “macs”.
“It’s never too late to plant nuts,” he told the audience of some 200 farmers, growers and agricultural students. “This is a fantastic little industry, and from humble beginnings in 1971 of only 10 000 or so trees in South Africa, this country now boasts about nine million. We’ve gone from zero to hero in 20 years.”
While Mpumalanga led the macadamia tree charge, KZN was fast catching up, he said.
South Africa, he added, was the leading producer of macadamia nuts, which had a total value last year of some R3 billion, “but we eat very few of them”. The bulk went to the US, and then Europe, with South East Asia and Hong Kong also consuming a fair amount, followed by Japan and then the Middle East.
As for China, “They can’t get enough of our nuts – but they order them still in the shell.” The macadamia culture was spreading, Lee said, and thanks to growers in this country sharing their knowledge with their neighbours across the borders, countries across central and southern Africa were now producing successful crops, as far afield as Kenya.
Interestingly, China had launched a five year plan some time back to plant four million macadamia trees a year by 2015. “They achieved that goal easily. In South Africa, we plant only 600 000 per annum. Now China has another plan, to plant eight million trees by 2020. If all goes well, and even taking into account some trees not performing, and that most are planted on hillsides and might not flourish, and yield only 10kg per tree as opposed to our 13kg per tree, they could still be the leading producer by 2025.”
The world could see a yield of some 110 000 to 115 000 tons of edible kernel by then, he added.
However, Lee hastened to assure the audience that “there has never been an over-production of macadamias, as this is a price inelastic product… there is no inverse relationship between price and production volume.” As far as global consumption was concerned, North America gobbled its way through 13 500 tons of macs a year (29% of the total production of 46 500 tons), on par with China. Next was the EU, at 6 500 tons, or 14%, followed by Australia (where the nut is indigenous), at 3500 tons or 7%.
“Macadamias are a niche product sold at a very high price, so you need to make sure your quality is of impeccable standard,” he said.
– For more information contact Lee at fillipuslee@googlemail.com