The Australian macadamia harvest has made news again, with reports of a record crop of 47 000 tonnes still on track following estimates reported by Fresh Plaza back in May. Of those 47 000, approximately 12 000 tonnes inshell will be sent to China, Jolyon Burnett, CEO of the Australian Macadamia Society, estimates. “As the Chinese market matures and develops we’ll see the Chinese tastes westernise. Particularly in those Tier 1 cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.” This may lead to Chinese demand shifting from the inshell to kernel," he adds.
Industry benchmarking work identified pest control and soil management as areas where yield increases are possible with less loss due to pests, and improved soil health leading to better take up of nutrients and disease tolerance. “The big crop is mostly due to favorable weather but some of the increase is due to improvement in on farm productivity,” says Mr Burnett. “Things like using orchard organic matter such as husks, shells and prunings for composting and not leaving the roots exposed. Through a lot of work when it comes to pest management we are seeing better control and less losses.” Good yields and high quality mean that returns to growers have improved. Recent heavy rain in Northern NSW will delay harvest but not cause major losses either according to Mr Burnett.
The strategy of the AMS is to build supply in the short term through increasing productivity within existing orchards and for the medium to longer term, encourage new plantings. “There’s always a lag time. It takes investors a couple of years to see the good prices and decide to invest, then you’ve got 5-7 years before plants start producing.” The AMS is already seeing an increased interest in new plantings, however nurseries supplying macadamia trees within Australia have a waiting list of up to two years. “In new growing regions such as Mackay and further inland in Emerald we’re seeing plenty of plants go in there, so that’s an encouraging sign,” adds Mr Burnett.
China, Taiwan, Korea key export markets
Trade in China will continue to be a major part of the export revenue formacadamias, Mr Burnett says. “The FTA is not implemented here yet, but the Chinese Government, in an effort to normalise trade, already reduced the tariff from 24% to 19% on January 1, so the tariff reduction from the agreement will only really be catching up in the first year.”
Other key markets for export growth that Mr Burnett says are going well are Taiwan and Korea. “In Korea we also saw a 14% drop in tariffs since the implementation of that FTA. All of this adds up to the fact that supply, while it’s growing, is still limited.”
Globally the macadamia is gaining in popularity, according to Mr Burnett, with South African and Kenyan crops increasing. He also expects to see a lot more macadamias grown within China, probably destined for the domestic market, as the plantings there come on line over the next five years.
