Macadamias: new project in Australia
September 18, 2025 at 10:45 AM ,
Der AUDITOR
China is importing again
The macadamia harvest is currently underway in all major producing countries, and the experts from ofi report that around 80% of the crop has already been brought in in Australia and in South and East Africa. However, adverse weather conditions in East Africa and Australia have led to lower yields than initially forecast in some cases.
While prices for macadamia kernels rose slightly in July, prices for unshelled nuts remained stable, mainly due to increased interest from processors and purchases by Chinese importers in South Africa. According to ofi, Chinese buyers have only recently resumed their purchases of unshelled nuts in South Africa. This was mainly because China itself started this year with high carry-over stocks and a strong domestic crop, so large import volumes were not necessary at first. The harvest for the new crop has only just begun in China, so importers remain cautious. If demand continues to fall here, there will also be price declines on the world market.
Reduced crop estimate in South Africa
Macadamias South Africa (SAMAC) estimates the South African macadamia nut crop in 2025 at only 85,166 mt of in-shell macadamias (previous estimate: 93,433 mt) due to poor weather. While the warm autumn caused problems during the flowering phase in some growing regions, other areas suffered damage from cold weather or hail, or were affected by drought. This has resulted in smaller nuts. According to ofi, the reduced use of pesticides has also had a negative impact on quality. In Kenya, the first harvest has now been completed, but the export ban on unshelled macadamias remains in place in order to strengthen the industry in the country. Processors are currently preparing for the second harvest, which begins this month and will be smaller than the first harvest.
Optimised trees to defy climate change
The estimate for Australia's crop this year is around 40,000 mt, well below the 55,000 mt initially predicted. The main growing areas were affected by persistent rainfall, which led to crop failures and delays. Concerns about quality are also being raised.
As reported by FreshPlaza, a project announced this week aims to ensure that Australian macadamia farmers have access to optimised trees. These trees, specially bred by Hort Innovation, are designed to better withstand climate change and produce larger and better nuts earlier, while also reducing production costs for growers. In the longer term, this should also increase export figures in order to remain competitive on a global level.
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