Moyo’s Believe it or Nut
✓ In 2020, the global market size for macadamia nuts stood at $1.31 billion, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 11.2% through 2032.
✓ Genetic research has traced the origin of 70% of the world’s macadamia trees to a small grove of trees—and probably a single tree—in the small town of Gympie in Queensland, Australia.
✓ In 1857, botanist Ferdinand von Mueller named the plant genus Macadamia after his friend Dr. John Macadam, a noted Australian scientist.
✓ The first commerce using macadamia nuts was conducted in the 1860s by an aboriginal clan in Australia, who used them in trading with settlers.
✓ China is both the fastest growing producer and one of the fastest growing markets for macadamia nuts.
✓ Macadamia nuts are common gifts exchanged during Chinese New Year because of their positive image in Chinese culture and their popularity as a party snack.
✓ It takes about 7 years for a newly planted macadamia tree to bear fruit, but then it provides high yields for more than 100 years.
✓ Macadamias grow encased in a hard, woody shell that is harder than the shell of any other nut. It takes machinery applying 300 pounds of pressure per square inch to crack the shell during processing.
✓ In 2014, macadamia nut sales in South Korea surged 250% after a “nut rage” scandal in which a Korean Air executive fired a flight attendant for serving her macadamias in a bag instead of on a plate.
