The past few years have been a rollercoaster ride for South Africa's macadamia industry. Prolonged travel bans during Covid-19, particularly in China, had a sharp impact, and in 2022, the macadamia price crashed. Last year was again a difficult year for the world's largest macadamia industry with lower than expected yields.
While the 2025 crop is estimated at slightly over 90,000 metric tonnes, an increase of around 7% over 2024, it is nevertheless smaller than anticipated, given the number of young trees that should be coming into production.
© Carolize Jansen | FreshPlaza.comAt various points long the process, kernels are manually sorted according to class and size
South Africa might be overtaken by Chinese production at some point in future, but their quality will not easily be rivalled, says Bruce Milton, the chairperson and shareholder of Royal Macadamia in Levubu, Limpopo Province.
See the photo report of the visit to Royal Macadamia
At the Royal Macadamia factory and shop glass cases exhibit macadamia products: unshelled nuts and kernels, oils, butters and cosmetics brought here from wherever it is grown across the world. Levubu has been ground zero for macadamia farming in South Africa where pioneers like Bertie le Roux first started experimenting with the Australian nut seventy years ago.
The macadamia industry is vulnerable to the long-term impact of a warming climate, especially in marginal areas. Milton notes that KwaZulu-Natal offers the optimal production areas.
Industry expects to feel impact from Trump's tariffs
Trade tariffs are nothing new to South African exporters: for example, despite the countries' shared BRICS membership, China places a 15% levy on South African nuts while Australia enjoys zero-rated mac exports to China.
"The recent increase in U.S. tariffs is anticipated to have a notable effect on South Africa's macadamia nut industry, potentially hindering its growth and competitiveness in the American market. Currently, we shouldn't panic but wait until we have more detail on the implications of the tariff increase on the industry," Milton advises, adding that it is not yet clear if macadamias are exempted from the tariff increase.
"As U.S. buyers face higher prices for South African macadamias, they may reduce their orders or seek alternative suppliers. This could lead to a decrease in the volume of macadamia nuts exported from South Africa to the U.S., which is a significant importer of these nuts."
Macadamia demand from the Middle East is developing. In India, he says, Australia has been developing a macadamia market which will be to the benefit of all.
See the photo report of the visit to Royal Macadamia
A macadamia nut's journey
The new season's macadamia crop from twenty shareholding farmers and outside farmers has started arriving at Royal Macadamia's factory (thirty years old next year), where the hard nuts are cracked and sorted.
Most macadamia farmers will have removed the green husk around the nuts on their farms; it makes a very good mulch and compost.
© Carolize Jansen | FreshPlaza.comShelling the nuts is done very carefully to avoid crushing of kernels, as checked here by Wisani Baloyi
Until November nuts will upon arrival be tested for moisture content and insect damage and other defects, the results signed off by the delivering farmer, before a consignment noisily clatters through chutes to start the process. An average of twelve tonnes of nuts are processed and packed every day, the discarded shells sold to a local entrepreneur for the manufacture of activated carbon.
Kernels selected to be sold whole and uncracked (called "nut in shell" or NIS, usually for the Chinese market) move directly to the diameter sizers according to 2mm intervals, from 16 to 18mm to 22 to 24mm. Other nuts move through the machines that crack the exceedingly hard shell in a variety of ways.
"The cracking process has to be finely calibrated," says Jan van der Merwe, Royal Macadamia's general manager. "Every nut first has to proceed through the sizer, otherwise, a small nut will just roll through, uncracked, while a large nut through a too small de-sheller will be crushed."
© Carolize Jansen | FreshPlaza.com
"This time of year, we get a high percentage of whole kernels because the Intec varieties with a thinner shell are brought in during the early part of the season," says Gideon Smit, the factory manager. "Around 57% of the nuts remain whole during the process. This percentage can fall to 30% towards June and July when the hybrids, like Beaumont with their thicker shell, are harvested. Then towards the end of the year the whole kernel percentage lifts again."
There is an inverse relationship between shell thickness and protection against insects, as can be well observed in the rows composed of different varieties of macadamia cultivars outside the factory. The degree of thrip infestation on flowers attests to this.
See the photo report of the visit to Royal Macadamia
The final sorting of the kernel is done by hand. Van der Merwe explains that the shelled nuts are sorted into various styles according to standards set by the World Macadamia Organization, where 0 is a large, whole kernel, then styled down to 8, which are small particles. Not all clients would necessarily want a style 0 because the nuts can be considered too large to be eaten as a dainty snack.
© Carolize Jansen | FreshPlaza.com
Immature nuts, or those with cosmetic insect damage, are made into oil and butter.
"Our oils are cold-pressed and of a very high quality," Smit remarks; due to its virgin nature it is almost without fragrance, unlike oils produced by heat The factory has the capacity to press 400 litres of oil per day, some exported for use in cosmetics (oil with very high levels of fatty acids) and food processing (low fatty acid and peroxide values).
In November the entire factory is dismantled for maintenance; the impact of millions of hard nuts is considerable on the working parts.
© Carolize Jansen | FreshPlaza.comBruce Milton in a macadamia orchard in Ratombo, Levubu
For more information:
Bruce Milton
Royal Macadamia
Tel: +27 15 151 0077
Email: gm@royalmacadamia.co.za
https://royalmacadamia.co.za/