Export markets are going nuts over Australia’s most famous bush tucker product, Gympie region’s own macadamia nut.
And booming demand is just in time for the macadamia industry, based on a Gympie region native and our only successfully mass-marketed bush tucker product.
From humble beginnings as a wild food between Amamoor and Bauple, maccas are now grown over a big area of Northern New South Wales and Queensland, as well as being extensively produced in the USA.
Booming production, as revealed by new industry research, will help meet serious export demand, according to agribusiness specialist lender Rabobank.
The bank says “growing production in Australia’s ‘tree nut’ industry will provide opportunities to meet growing international demand, as significant almond and macadamia orchards reach maturity over the next few years.
In its just-released report, Australian Tree Nut Outlook, Rabobank says boosted production will help meet a “growing appetite for tree nuts in export markets – particularly China – as well (meeting increased) local demand.”
Report author, RaboResearch analyst Pia Piggott said, “positive consumption trends in tree nuts and more broadly in snacking will drive Chinese consumption growth over the next decade”.
“And as China and India, another major tree nut market, have limited domestic production, we expect further growth in imports,” she said.
Ms Piggott said other key tree nut export destinations and important drivers of demand included Vietnam, Spain and Turkey.
The domestic “macca” market is not so fast growing, but remains lucrative, absorbing 22 per cent of production.
