Hawaii’s ‘famous macadamia nuts’ threatened by cheaper, undisclosed Australian imports

2 weeks ago 6

By Audrey McAvoy

May 2, 2024 — 11.23am

Honolulu: For decades, tourists to Hawaii person bought acquisition boxes of the islands’ celebrated chocolate-covered macadamia nuts for friends and household backmost home, but these days galore of the kernels successful the bundle mightiness not beryllium Hawaii-grown.

This little-known information is surfacing astatine the authorities legislature arsenic it wrestles implicit a instrumentality that would unit macadamia-nut processors of iconic brands similar Mauna Loa to disclose whether their products incorporate nuts from extracurricular the islands.

Growers privation the measurement to support their crops and farms, portion commercialized seed brands accidental what Hawaii needs is much capableness to process mac nuts locally.

Packets of macadamia nuts connected store shelves successful Honolulu.

Foreign nuts are being “marketed cleverly arsenic Hawaiian,” said Jeffrey Clark, main operating serviceman of a spot that owns Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company.

“It’s not wide to consumers what is Hawaii grown and what is overseas grown,” Clark told authorities representatives during a caller committee hearing. “It creates a occupation for the farmers present successful Hawaii.”

Macadamia seed trees are autochthonal to Australia and were introduced to Hawaii successful 1881 by a Scotsman who managed a Big Island sweetener mill. The archetypal large effort astatine commercialized planting dates to 1948. Chocolate-covered macadamia nuts took disconnected the pursuing decade. In the 1970s and ’80s, Hawaii harvested much than 10 times the magnitude of the adjacent 4 large producers combined.

Hawaii has 600+ macadamia seed farmers, but “Hawaiian nuts” besides travel from Australia and different countries.

But today, Australia, South Africa, China and Kenya each turn much than Hawaii. In 2022, the state’s accumulation plummeted 29 per cent from the twelvemonth before, according to manufacture data.

Hawaiian Host Group sells macadamia nuts nether immoderate of the state’s astir venerable brands. Their rectangular boxes of Hawaiian Host chocolate-covered macadamia nuts are favourites of tourists and locals alike. Their blue-coloured Mauna Loa cans and bags are among the astir recognisable macadamia products connected store shelves.

The company’s main administrative serviceman told a Senate committee proceeding that the magnitude of overseas macadamia nuts the institution buys varies depending connected the Hawaii crop.

“We effort to acquisition arsenic overmuch section macadamias arsenic the growers volition merchantability to us,” Michelle Leon-Guerrero said.

For decades, tourists to Hawaii person taken location acquisition boxes of the islands’ celebrated chocolate-covered macadamia nuts for friends and family. A caller instrumentality whitethorn present unit companies to disclose wherever their nuts travel from connected packaging.

Hawaiian Host CEO Ed Schultz said his institution buys one-third of the macadamia nuts grown successful Hawaii. It’s been doing truthful astatine a 35 per cent premium to Australian prices successful 2023. He said Hawaii’s nuts request to beryllium competitory with those from Down Under.

It’s the latest tussle implicit labels for cultivation products from a circumstantial geographic area, a taxable acquainted to Hawaii owed to long-running disputes implicit Kona coffee. It echoes akin challenges faced by maple syrup producers successful Vermont, US, and distilleries successful Champagne which person had to fend disconnected sparkling vino producers from different places trying to due the French region’s name.

The stakes are precocious for Hawaii’s 600-plus macadamia seed farmers, galore of whom person tiny operations. Combined, they produced $US62.7 cardinal ($95 million) successful nuts successful 2021, conscionable up of java successful worth and 2nd lone to effect farms that probe genetically engineered corn.

Growers accidental they can’t find buyers for their kernel and unharvested nuts are falling from their trees. Some farmers are giving up and trying to merchantability their equipment.

In response, authorities representatives are owed to ballot connected authorities connected Thursday (AEST) that would necessitate nutrient companies to disclose connected the packaging erstwhile they incorporate macadamia nuts grown extracurricular of Hawaii. The measurement would instrumentality effect connected January 1, 2026, if it becomes law. The politician has not indicated whether helium volition motion it.

Schultz said what the manufacture needed was much processing capacity. For this, Hawaiian Host wants the manufacture to signifier a co-op to tally a caller processing installation connected the Big Island. Many growers are reluctant to articulation specified a task without a labelling request that volition differentiate their nuts from others astir the world.

Nathan Trump, the president of the Hawaii Macadamia Nut Association, said Hawaii macadamia nuts person beardown marque recognition. But helium said the presumption quo turned the nuts into a commodity.

“When you look astatine things similar Vermont maple syrup, New Zealand beef – antithetic state of root matters due to the fact that prime matters to consumers,” helium said. “If they recognize the state of origin, I deliberation they’ll beryllium capable to marque the determination if they privation to wage a higher price.”

Vermont instrumentality says nary maple merchandise whitethorn beryllium labelled arsenic being from Vermont, oregon labelled successful a mode that implies it was, unless it was 100 per cent produced successful Vermont successful compliance with authorities standards.

In Europe, Champagne makers came unneurotic successful the 19th period to forestall sparkling winemakers operating elsewhere from utilizing the French region’s sanction for their beverage. Today, European Union rules let products to get a geographical designation if they person a circumstantial nexus to wherever the merchandise is made.

State Representative Kristin Kahaloa’s Big Island territory sits connected the occidental slopes of Mauna Loa, the volcano that gave its sanction to the fashionable seed brand. She said smaller farmers and producers wanted some labelling requirements and much processing capacity, and she agreed.

“Mauna Loa is the sanction of our mountain,” Kahaloa said. “It’s astir keeping a peculiar cultivation merchandise that is portion of the cloth of our assemblage connected our island.”