Future of the industry
Continued growth of the area under crop and export volumes 'baked in'
The next 5 years: Industry Projections
The industry is in a growth phase; new establishments have averaged over 1000 ha in the past 5 years and 2020 saw the largest ever annual planting of seedlings at 1,473 ha. Planting projections by members support a continuation of this trend with overall ha reaching 15,000 ha a rise of 46% by 2026. NIS production is projected to increase by 45% surpassing 10,000 MT with the production capacity to achieve this is already locked in. It can be said that with high confidence that the industry will see sustained growth in NIS volumes and Kernel exports for the next decade. Investment in capacity will be important to sustain standards, maintain quality and productivity. This growth will also see macadamia become a more significant component of the export economy, create new skilled jobs.
Sellable kernel recovery (SKR) the key indicator of quality has averaged 26.5% over the industry in the last 5 years but varies considerably between producers. This suggests that productivity can be enhanced both by transferring knowledge between Malawian farms and integrating innovative practices utilized externally. Stinkbug is responsible for a significant proportion of unsound kernel, with fewer control options available, new approaches to control this priority pest will need to be widely adopted to enhance sellable kernel recovery industry wide.
What can be achieved in the next 5 years?
Consultations to identify industry priorities coalesced around two main areas of activity. The first focuses on capacity both institutionally and on behalf of members alongside improving the quality and range of services available to all macadamia stakeholders. The second area is more outward looking forming linkages with other origins to benefit from research, interacting with the Malawian Government in areas of regulation, export facilitation and trade.
