Macadamias: important decisions for Kenya's exports
September 25, 2024 at 3:15 PM ,
Der AUDITOR
The public should participate in decision-making
In Kenya, strict regulations apply to macadamia exports under the Agriculture and Food Authority Act. These require authorisation from the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, Andrew Karanja; this type of policy is aimed at promoting domestic processing and exporting processed nuts instead of raw nuts. However, farmers have been protesting against this law for several months now, as they sometimes only receive very low prices for their macadamias from local processors, as reported by The Star. The government had already reacted by temporarily suspending the regulation – this has now been extended by a further six months, as Karanja announced. The public is also to be more closely involved in the decision-making process regarding the future of Kenyan macadamia exports.
According to The Star, the Senate Agriculture Committee played an important role in this decision. Major concerns were expressed here, as farmers have already suffered huge losses due to low market prices and the effects of global market fluctuations caused by various political conflicts, among other things. It is now to be examined whether the law can be permanently repealed.
In Kenya, farmers harvest macadamia nuts on around 200,000 small farms throughout the country, covering around 20% of the global supply. The number of processing plants is also growing steadily, as market players see great potential in the high global demand. The country's current annual exports are around 60,000 mt.
South Africa increases shipments to Germany
Kenya is Germany's second most important macadamia supplier after South Africa. German imports totalled 3,792 mt in the period from September 2023 to July 2024, which is 21.6% more than in the same period last year. South Africa was able to increase its shipments by an impressive 54.2% to 1,508 mt, while Kenya and the Netherlands recorded more moderate increases of 16% and 14.9% respectively. Australia, which ranked third in terms of shipments to Germany last season, suffered losses of almost 78% and slipped to 5th place behind Malawi.
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Macadamia imports, Germany, in mt |
|||
|
Supplier |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
Diff. |
|
South Africa |
978 |
1,508 |
54.2% |
|
Kenya |
914 |
1,060 |
16.0% |
|
Netherlands |
502 |
577 |
14.9% |
|
Malawi |
33 |
321 |
872.7% |
|
Australia |
620 |
139 |
-77.6% |
|
Vietnam |
0 |
92 |
n/a |
|
Others |
71 |
95 |
33.8% |
|
Total |
3,118 |
3,792 |
21.6% |
|
Federal Statistical Office of Germany / Sep-Jul 08026200 Fresh or dried macadamia nuts, shelled |
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