Mishma Chakanyuka, Staff Writer 
PLAYERS in the macadamia nut industry say they do not expect a major recovery in prices this year as they focus on improving crop quality.
This comes as the crop witnessed a decrease in prices last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic-induced lockdown in major customer countries.
“I don’t expect that there will be a major recovery in macadamia nut prices this year, but I think it will be a lot easier in the future to sell good quality nuts. I think the days of being able to get a good price on low quality are gone; you are going to have to produce good quality,” Ariston chief executive Paul Spear told The Financial Gazette on the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting in Harare recently.
“Last year was a difficult year for a variety of reasons because we had a sort of global pandemic that everyone is recovering from, but the big problem for us was the lockdown in China. China was a bit behind the curve as they were completely in lockdown for two years. They are a very big customer for macadamias and they also pay the best prices globally for the right quality.
“That took the top off the demand for macadamias and as a result, prices dropped dramatically. Part of our crop was already contracted, which worked out very nicely, but there was a lot that was not, and we took the option of selling even at low prices,” Spear said.
He added that biologically, macadamias do not keep, so having carryover stock from one year to another is not good, hence the decision to sell at low prices, which resulted in very depressed macadamia revenue.
Spears, on the other hand, noted that this year’s macadamia crop is good, as the group already has two container loads ready to sell at the start of the season.
“It’s early days, but the crop looks so much better than last year in terms of volumes and quality. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was convinced that the prices would stay as depressed as they were last year, but in the last couple of weeks, we have had inquiries from two or three buyers. The prices they are talking about are not great, but the fact that there is interest is encouraging, so I think that’s heading in the right direction,” he said.
He further highlighted that macadamia farmers in Chipinge are currently investing in nut cracking facilities, a move that will positively impact the group.
