Solving difficulties for macadamia growers

Mr. Tran Duc Van in residential group number 15 (Tan Phong ward) checks the quality of macadamia nuts.

Production increased, harvesting still manual
The province currently has about 7,421 hectares of macadamia trees, of which more than 3,000 hectares have been harvested (including 1,000 hectares of pure cultivation and nearly 2,000 hectares intercropped with other fruit trees). The remaining area is in the growth stage and promises to be harvested in the next few years, contributing to increasing the overall output of the province.
Talking to us, Mr. Nguyen Trong Lich - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment said: "Currently, the average yield of macadamia trees is from 5 - 7 kg of fresh fruit/tree/year. In 2025 alone, with favorable weather and good care techniques, the yield tends to increase slightly. Many macadamia areas enter the business period, the trees flower evenly and the fruit set rate is high."
Despite the increase in output, the problem of harvesting macadamia nuts is still a concern for many growers. Because most of the harvesting process is still done manually, mainly by hand, using poles or shaking the tree to make the fruit fall. This not only reduces labor productivity but also increases labor costs, especially in the context of increasing local labor costs.
A typical example is Mr. Tran Duc Van's family in residential group 15 (Tan Phong ward) who has more than 5 hectares of macadamia intercropped with grapefruit. With favorable weather and proactive pest control, his family's macadamia garden has grown well this year, with many fruits. However, what makes Mr. Van worried is the consumption stage. Mr. Van shared: My family mainly picks the fruit themselves, because hiring workers costs a lot, while the units come to buy but it is not stable, the price fluctuates and minus the cost of picking, transportation... there is almost no profit. Therefore, fresh fruit is mainly dried and sold on digital platforms such as: Facebook, Zalo, Tiktok.
In fact, the current harvesting cost ranges from 1.5 to 1.7 million VND/ha, not including transportation and packaging costs. Meanwhile, the selling price of fresh macadamia nuts with shells has remained virtually unchanged for many years, leading to a decrease in growers' profits.

Need chain linkage to increase value
One of the main reasons why income from macadamia has not improved is due to small-scale production, uneven care techniques, and scattered output. Most households still sell their products spontaneously, bringing them to retail markets or selling through traders at unstable prices. The lack of connection with processing and consumption enterprises has prevented macadamia from forming a sustainable value chain. Although it has been identified as a potential crop, up to now, macadamia in the province has not yet built a clear chain from production to consumption. Enterprises are still hesitant to invest due to the lack of stable raw material areas; while people lack information about the market, safe farming techniques, and long-term development strategies. Faced with this reality, the Provincial People's Committee issued Resolution No. 07/2021/NQ-HDND dated March 22, 2021 on the development of concentrated commodity agriculture for the period 2021 - 2025, including the development of macadamia raw material areas. However, to date, there has been no specific support policy specifically for the harvesting, processing and consumption of macadamia products.
To overcome the difficulties, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment is continuing to advise competent authorities to issue appropriate support policies and mechanisms. The focus is on attracting businesses to invest in large-scale raw material areas, while building deep-processing factories locally to increase the added value of products. Deep-processed products from macadamia such as dried kernels, macadamia oil, natural cosmetics, etc. not only help expand the consumption market but also create more jobs and stable income for people. Along with that, the functional sector will continue to support farmers to improve production techniques according to safety standards, aiming to build sustainable raw material areas, linked to long-term consumption markets.
According to Mr. Nguyen Trong Lich - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, macadamia trees are opening up a promising development direction, not only helping to diversify the crop structure but also being a lever for sustainable poverty reduction for local people. However, for macadamia to develop sustainably, it is necessary to invest synchronously in processing infrastructure, logistics systems, traceability and preferential credit mechanisms. More importantly, there must be synchronous participation of people, businesses and the government. In particular, it is necessary to form a 3-party linkage model: farmers - state - investors to create a breakthrough and make macadamia truly become an important foundation for modern, effective and sustainable commodity agriculture in the locality.

Source: https://baolaichau.vn/kinh-te/go-kho-cho-nguoi-trong-mac-ca-1377562