info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
Photo from Business Daily
According to the report, there was a highly marketed increase in the amount of macadamia nuts produced in Kenya last year.
Macadamia nut processors predicted that there would be a rise in production in the future.
The demand is fuelled by attractive farmgate prices that hit the Sh200 mark a kilo at the close of September.
The price made the crop so lucrative that there is rampant theft of nuts when they are ripe for harvesting especially in the central region.
In Meru, Mr Joshua Muriira, Macadamia Farmers Association chairman, said he harvested 4,000 kilos from 140 trees and sold the nuts at an average of Sh190 a kilo.
"I cannot complain because the prices were good. This was my best experience as a farmer and I intend to plant more trees," he said.
According to Nut Processors Association of Kenya (NutPAK), production of macadamia nuts has increased fourfold in less than a decade as more farmers embrace the crop.
