Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 8.2
Estimated world tonnage (kernel basis) of the major tree nuts crops in 2011, growth
in production from 2002-2011 and share of total production. (Source: International Dried Fruit &
Nut Council Statistics Database
2012
)
Tree nut
a
Share of world produc-
tion 2011 (%)
Almonds 1,109,414 228.7 35
Cashews 556,668 227.3 18
Walnuts 497,635 148.1 16
Pistachio 455,266 101.7 15
Hazelnut 354,600 87.6 11
Pecan 89,146 74.9 3
Pine nuts 34,445 363.9 1
Macadamia 29,875 167.4 1
Brazil nut 23,995 70.4 < 1
a
Information for Chestnuts has not been presented due to a lack of credible statistics
Estimated tonnage
(kernel basis)
Total production growth
2002-2011 (%)
Brief History of Macadamia Production
The macadamia is native to the subtropical coastal rainforests of northern New
South Wales and south east Queensland and is the only major food crop of Australian
origin. The macadamia kernel has a delicate, buttery, crunchy texture and is gener-
ally considered to be the premium nut in world trade.
While there are four species of macadamia found in Australia the commercial
industry is based primarily on
Macadamia integrifolia
and on hybrids of
Macada-
mia integrifolia
and
Macadamia tetraphylla
. An Australian industry-based breed-
ing program is currently developing new hybrids with the other species to improve
kernel quality, reduce shell thickness and tree size, and improve pest and disease
resistance.
The macadamia industry is generally considered to be less than 150 years old
with the first commercial orchards being planted in northern New South Wales in
the 1870s and 1880s. These first orchards were small, generally less than 100 trees,
and were composed of
Macadamia tetraphylla
trees (McConachie
1980
). Despite
the efforts of various Australian state governments and acclimatization societies to
promote macadamia, a large scale industry did not develop in Australia until the
1970s, almost 100 years after the first orchards were planted. In contrast, following
the introduction of seeds from the 1880s onwards (Shigeura and Ooka
1984
) an
industry began to develop in Hawaii in the 1930s and by the late 1940s the first
large scale macadamia plantations had been established. The Hawaiian Agricul-
tural Experimental Station then went on to select most of the cultivars on which the
world's macadamia industry is currently based. The Hawaiian industry dominated
world production until the late 1990s when it was overtaken by Australia. Produc-
tion in Hawaii was, and still is, a mixture of large corporate plantations and large
and small private holdings.
Large scale, commercial plantation style production started in Australia in the
1960s when CSR Ltd established a series of orchards along the Queensland coast
