Yunnan province has taken 30 years to rank first in output value and growing area in China as well as first in growing area in the world. Under this remarkable development momentum, how to promote more scientific planting, management methods, regulate the market, and realize industrialization has become huge challenges for the future development of the Yunnan macadamia nut industry.  With these thoughts, let’s walk into the Yunnan macadamia nut industry with this challenges.

How to protect farmers' interests and nut quality under the rapid development of industry

Yunnan macadamia nut planting area is increasing at an annual rate of 150,000 mu. By the end of 2017, the macadamia planting area in Yunnan Province has reached 2.62 million mu with productions more than 40,000 tons of fresh fruit and 16,000 tons of nuts(peels removed), ranking first in China.

As a business for local people to alleviate poverty, Macadamia nuts in Yunnan became increasingly popular in local growers in recent years. The reason for this is that, on the one hand, the growing demand for macadamia nuts in the market has raised the acquisition price; on the other hand, the 70-year-old fruit-bearing period of macadamia nuts has made fruit growers aware of the longer-term rewards of plantation.

However, under the background of rapid development, problems were gradually exposed. For example, in order to maximize profit, some seedlings of unhealthy varieties began to flow into the market. Many fruit growers who did not know much about macadamia nuts had to wait a long time to find themselves being cheated after purchasing these seedlings. The loss and damage could not be estimated.

The planting and management of macadamia nuts in Yunnan Province were still relatively extensive and simple. Although the planting area was large, it was difficult to increase the yield and quality. What is even more worrying thing is that due to the lack of professional knowledge of picking, many fruit growers picked unfully matured fruits to make them earlier in market for a good price. This has seriously affected the overall impression of the quality of Yunnan macadamia nuts.

Seeking a bigger nut market for Yunnan macadamia nut 

As of the end of 2017, the macadamia planting area in Yunnan Province accounted for approximately 56% of the total planting area of the Australian macadamia. The huge planting area means that once it enters the fruiting period, the output will also increase. So, where is market for such huge yields?

According to the quality standards of international macadamia nuts, the nut with a bearing rate of 35% has an export value. In other words, how to further improve the integration of Yunnan macadamia nutrients in cultivation techniques, orchard management, fruit tree pruning, pest control, etc. have become a fundamental issue in broadening market of macadamia nut. On the other hand, according to the data of authority report, the per capita annual consumption of macadamia in the Chinese market is only 3 grams, far below the international per capita level of 16 grams per year. The huge market potential is in China now.  How to take this market opportunity to do research and development of nut products to meet Chinese consumers has become a major issue in front of all nut enterprises. No doubt, Yunnan's macadamia industry will gain a large market share, depending on quality of raw materials, products development and mature commercial operations.

The first step of Yunnan macadamia nut

At first, Any business that wants to form an industry must have three attributes: scale, standardization and commercialization. According to the macadamia nut processing company's standard criteria for domestic nuts, the quality of the nuts is subdivided into nine standards. Macadamia nuts in Yunnan are the largest in the world, but only the first step in terms of industrial maturity. Taking planting and harvesting as an example, affected by geographical conditions, Macadamia nuts in Yunnan are planted in mountainous areas in large quantities. It is impossible to carry out large-scale mechanized management and harvesting in plating areas. Storage and logistics even face more difficult situations. 

Secondly, there is still a big gap between Yunnan local producers and international peers in processing, product development and marketing. A large number of nuts are sold as raw materials with low added value. The road to industrialization still needs to actively cooperate with domestic and foreign peers to seek more market opportunities.

Finally, as the largest macadamia nuts growing region, Yunnan still needs to continue exploring and practicing to improve nut quality and yield, further promote scientific methods of seedling, planting and management, and industry self-discipline and policy supervision to provide a healthier market environment for Yunnan nut industry.

On October 17, 2018, the 8th International Macadamia Nut symposium will be held in Lincang, Yunnan. The global macadamia nut industry giants will gather in Lincang. Discussing issues including seedling technology, orchard management, pest control, picking and processing, food safety, multi-dimensional exchange discussions on market supply and demand, and international cooperation.