Macadamia

Macadamia is a relatively new nut compared with, for instance, almonds and hazelnuts. Major producing countries are Australia, South Africa and the USA ,accounting for about 70 percent of the world production. The remaining 30 percent comes from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Brazil, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya and some smaller players, including Colombia. China too appears to have its eye on the nut and has already planted large areas. They claim to be a major player in the market in ten years’ time. Time will tell whether this claim will come true. It is certain, however, that worldwide production will increase. Enterprising farmers have understood the value of the product, which so far has shown more than average revenues per kilogram compared to other crops.

In most producing countries, harvesting is done manually. In Australia, harvesting is mainly a mechanical process. When the time has come to harvest, the trees are shaken and the ripe fruits fall down and are gathered. Then they are transported to the factory, where further treatments will take place. These are modern facilities with employees dressed in clean corporate clothing.