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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Economy & Trade

South Africa’s reliance on China leaves macadamia industry with nowhere to go

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • South Africa’s macadamia industry is struggling after China sharply reduced purchases, while global demand has failed to grow as expected.
  • Exporters have sold only about half of the 2026 crop so far, leaving many farmers unable to cover costs and contributing to a processing plant bankruptcy.
  • Traders say the industry needs more diversified markets, greater domestic marketing and structural changes to overcome its dependence on China.

South Africa’s macadamia industry has reached a painful crossroads: a bumper harvest has left many farmers earning less than their costs, while the market that drove the sector’s growth has slowed sharply.

More than half of South Africa’s macadamia crop once went to China each year. So far in 2026, only about 50% of the crop has been exported, as Chinese buying weakened and demand in other international markets failed to meet expectations. Traders say the result is an industry with too many nuts and too few places to sell them.

The pressure has spread beyond farm prices. A macadamia processing plant in the Lowveld has gone bankrupt, while banks and financial institutions have frozen some farmers’ assets. Farmers say current prices do not cover production costs, even after a strong harvest.

Over-reliance on the Chinese market was like lifting a stone and dropping it on our own foot. The entire nut industry is facing a situation where there is nowhere to go.

— Macadamia traderThe trader described the consequences of South Africa’s dependence on China and the lack of alternative buyers.

The industry’s limited access to alternative markets has made the problem worse. Europe has only a small number of packers and traders, according to one trader, who said they benefit from competition among South African exporters. Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, South Africa can export raw macadamias to the United States, but processed products such as chocolate-coated nuts or brittle face import duties.

Traders acknowledge that the sector failed to diversify its customer base or add enough value in time. They say the industry knew oversupply was possible from annual tree surveys, but continued to rely heavily on bulk sales. They argue that solving the crisis will require years of work to develop buyers and shelf space, along with a redesign of the industry. They also point to Australia’s government-backed macadamia branding as an example South Africa lacks, as well as the absence of agricultural subsidies and coordination between the public and private sectors.

We did not pay enough attention to diversifying our customer base or adding value in time, which left us lifting a stone and dropping it on our own foot.

— Macadamia traderThe trader acknowledged the industry’s failure to diversify markets and develop processed products.
About this summary

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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