“We have had foreigners who have been traversing the country and buying macadamia including the unripe ones from our farmers. That is why when our farmers fail to get a market for their produce, they sell them at throwaway prices,” he said.
“Those eight to nine people, we chased them away last week…they have all been deported.”
The popular nut mainly grown for export thrives in the Mt Kenya counties of Murang’a, Kiambu, Embu, and Meru.
According to farming experts at Rich Farm Kenya, one acre of land can carry about 80 trees and each tree can produce about 100 kilos per year. Some farmers get between Ksh150 and Ksh230 per kilo. At Ksh230 per kilo, farmers stand to get Ksh1,840,000 per acre.
Between 90 and 95 percent of Kenya’s macadamia is produced for export. Key export destinations for Kenyan macadamia are the US, the European Union, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Canada. In 2020, the demand for Kenya’s macadamia globally declined by 40 percent, a drop the processors attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We want to recognise the macadamia and I think the Agriculture Minister (Mithika Linturi) will be making some pronouncements on how we want to restore the prices of macadamia to where we were before,” said Chelgui.
“The Ksh. 250 per kilo is a complete shame. We allowed this crop to be taken over by cartels who ended up exploiting farmers. The people have been eliminated and we are coming up with a new and reorganised way of pricing and marketing macadamia.”
