Macadamia boom sees orchard area more than double

The macadamia industry in Australia is experiencing a significant boom, with the total orchard area more than doubling in the last decade. Farmers like Andrew Cross, based in the Burdekin region of North Queensland, are increasingly turning to macadamia cultivation. Cross is currently harvesting his first commercial crop after transitioning from sugar cane five years ago, a move he describes as "very, very comforting" as the yield proves successful.

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It's a bit of nervousness to see the yield and that come through. So, to put the harvesters in and [see] the yield come off is very, very comforting.

MH Premium Farms, where Cross works as an area manager, has been expanding its macadamia operations, planting over 8,000 trees annually for the past five years. This expansion reflects a broader trend of farmers seeking stable, high-value permanent crops. Agronomist Courtney Richards sees potential for further growth, noting that while adapting from row cropping to permanent tree cultivation presents challenges, the industry's knowledge base is growing.

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The value of permanent plantings has very much proven itself to be a stable, high-value thing if we can make an operational profit on it.

Australia currently produces 50,000 tonnes of macadamias annually across 48,000 hectares. Despite this increased output, the price of Australia's most expensive nut is unlikely to fall. Leoni Kojetin, industry development manager for the Australian Macadamia Society, attributes this to robust domestic and international demand. Notably, Australians consume more macadamias per capita than any other nation, and about 75 percent of the crop is exported to 40 countries, including a growing market in India.

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They're very different, obviously, going from a row-cropping situation into a permanent tree-cropping situation. But we've proven that we can do it [by] asking the right questions and leaning on those people in the industry who have got the knowledge.