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Edgar Vhera Agriculture Specialist Writer
AFTER a modest rise from US$0, 70 per kilogramme at start of the 2024 season to the current US$0, 90 to US$1, 20, prices of macadamia nuts have still remained below the production cost.
This comes as farmers have sent a distress call to Government to intervene in setting a minimum price that will enable them to make ends meet.
Macadamia Producers Association of Zimbabwe (MPAZ) secretary general Mr Fortune Gurai said this season’s prices had risen slightly to between US$0, 90 and US$1, 20 depending on crop quality.
“The price of wet macadamia nuts in shell has increased to between US$0, 90 and US$1, 20 per kilogramme depending on quality. This is against the cost of producing a kilogramme of the crop that is about US$1, 50,” said Mr Gurai.
He added that as farmers they were appealing to the Government, through the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to intervene and help in setting a minimum price that enabled them to remain in business.
The Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) [Macadamia Nuts] Regulations, 2019 under S.I. 138 of 2019 [CAP. 18:24] in section 16 under title ‘Fixing of prices’ says: “Where it appears to the Minister that there are unfair practices in the pricing model of macadamia nuts, the Minister may, after consultation with the Authority, the Minister responsible for Finance, and upon recommendations from associations of growers of macadamia nuts before the December 31 in each year, by order published in the Gazette, fix the minimum prices for macadamia nuts to be traded in that year.”
Essentially, for a farmer to break-even, the output price must equal the cost and any price paid that is above the production outlays to give the farmer a profit.
Macadamia is a perishable fruit that requires to be dried soon after harvesting to discourage rotting. After harvesting, the macadamia fruit undergoes the curing process, soon after de-husking to reduce moisture content from 20 to below two percent, as per export requirements.
Mr Gurai observed that it takes seven years for macadamia trees to start repaying investment costs with maximum production starting by year 12. The tree can remain productive for a long time under good management.
MPAZ chairman Mr Alex Mutasa concurred saying though they were getting a lot of potential buyers, nothing concrete has yet materialised.
“Following three years of declining prices, we have sent our request to the Minister of Agriculture to set a minimum price through AMA and we hope the price will be gazetted soon although the process has to go through cabinet.
“We are eagerly waiting for the outcome of the process given that some farmers who harvested their crop early are still holding onto it while the main crop is yet to harvested,” he said.
Mr Mutasa said some were still harvesting the early crop with reaping of the main crop set for month end and May. However, the quality of the crop has been deteriorating over the past three years due to inadequate inputs.
Zimbabwe grows the Beaumont and Intergrifolia macadamia varieties with the former being the main crop. Any macadamia nut size that is below 18 millimetres (mm) in diameter is rejected in favour of the 22mm diameter.
Meanwhile, statistics from Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStats) show that the average price for macadamia nut export has been on a continual decline from a high value of US$2, 91 per kilogramme in 2020 to US$1, 29 in 2023. The value from macadamia exports has also dropped by half from US$14 million in 2020 to US$7 million in 2023.
Online Reporter