The latest Australian Macadamia Society (AMS) forecast for 2016, released in March, predicts a 4 per cent increase in production from 2015, along with “steady growth in all markets”.
AMS Market Development Manager Lynne Ziehlke says it’s the “perfect scenario” for growers in Australia.
“What’s really good about the forecast is that we’re seeing the results of work that’s been going on for three to four years – particularly productivity improvements that have resulted in increased volumes of production,” she says.
“To see three years of steady growth is really exciting. It gives the industry confidence and gives customers confidence, which means we can continue to grow from here.”
Ms Ziehlke has recently returned from a series of industry “MacGroup” workshops run up and down the east coast of Australia that provided growers with insights into the macadamia industry. Topics covered included breeding programs, market stability and growth and productivity and financial management.
“The workshops were really good, we had 350 people across the growing regions, so that’s a great turnout,” she says.
“Everyone’s feeling positive about the crop ahead. We had a good year in 2015 and this was a good opportunity to get everyone together and talk about the season ahead.”
In the previous year, demand for macadamias has risen in all key markets, and continues to be strong across the board, particularly in Asia.
“We’re really focusing on the growing demand in Asia and have a desire to work there and meet the markets needs right now. Definitely the new markets in Korea and Taiwan are performing strongly, and China is also looking good.”
Australian macadamias were only recently introduced in China, with December 2015 seeing the launch of a million dollar consumer marketing campaign in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Run by AMS and the industry’s key commercial marketers, the campaign was funded by Australia’s 650+ macadamia growers (via an industry marketing levy through Horticulture Innovation Australia) and represents one of the biggest investments the Australian macadamia industry has ever made in an offshore market.
“We had launch events and talk to the entire trade industry about what we’re doing. There was an enormous amount of interest from within China and we had about 75% of all producers represented by people in Australia who went over for the event. It exceeded my expectations,” Ms Ziehlke says.
“The campaign is winding down now but will continue until June. Once we have the sales data we’ll be able to see the full impact of it, but certainly all the feedback we’re getting is that things have gone really, really well – particularly over Chinese New Year.”
Like many other nuts, macadamias are sold in a variety of forms, including raw kernels and salted, roasted nuts, which Ms Ziehlke says are “overwhelmingly the most popular macadamia product all over the world.”
“It does vary a bit now though, with different flavours and products too, such as wasabi or honey roasted macadamias, and also chilli salt, so you do see a few great flavours around,” she says.
“We’re also seeing more macadamias in ice cream, in cookies and in cereal products and confectionary, as well as new products like macadamia spread, macadamia milk and then your culinary oils or oils in cosmetics.”
She says the entire nut category has “really risen in popularity in the last 10-15 years”, and macadamias have become one of the premium options.
“People want to eat more nuts now and when you look at macadamias, they are a bit more special, and not as widely available as others, with premium quality and price. They’re kind of a special treat or favourite option.”
The strength of the market and consistent growth in demand has also led to more Australian growers investing in their crops, as well as interest from new stakeholders.
“We’re seeing a little bit of both at the moment, and it’s at the start of a cycle if you like, in terms of what’s to come,” Ms Ziehlke says.
“So we’ve seen quite a few farms change hands, and new growers buying orchards, as well as some farmers with other crops transitioning into macadamias. In terms of new planting, it’s mainly on existing farms at this time but we expect to see more investment in greenfield sites in the future.”
She says established growers have also significantly benefitted from investment in productivity improvement practises.
“Over the last three years we have run workshops on productivity to support older orchards and the industry, and that’s really paying off,” she says.
“To give you an idea of the difference it’s making, on these orchards in 2012 the yield was an average of 2.5 tonnes per hectare and in 2015, it’s 2.9 tonnes per hectare. That’s just from increased productivity – not new plantings.”
She says AMS has spent the past three years looking at what the most successful growers do, and incorporated this into their productivity workshops and resources for other growers. Their target is to reach 4 tonnes per hectare by 2020 through these improvements, which cover key decisions such as pruning, tree nutrition and “everything the growers need to do to get the best out of their trees.”
“The great thing is we’re seeing results, and growers are getting more confident in what they can do,” she says.
“For example, one practise is tree or row removal, because crowding from older macadamias can reduce light and lead to fewer nuts. So row removal is quite a drastic thing to do, it’s a massive change to orchard practises, but it’s this sort of thing that growers are getting more confident in doing as a way to increase their yield.”
The Australian macadamia harvest starts in February/March and continues for up to six months, with the last nuts collected from orchard floors between August and September.
For more information:
Nyree Epplett
Australian Macadamia Society
Tel: +61 2 6622 4933
Email: nyree.epplett@macadamias.org
www.australian-macadamias.org