According to Andrii Yarmak, an economist at the Investment Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), berries and nuts are the two fastest-growing horticultural markets in the world.

“Every year, the world trade in nuts is increasing by an average of 7.8%, which is comparable to the growth rate of the berry market. At the same time, the export of nuts annually grows by $2 billion a year and already reached about $34 billion,” says Andrii Yarmak. “The best-selling nut in the world is cashew, its sales are growing at a tremendous pace, namely by 17.2% or $760 million per year,” the expert says.

The trends for vegan food, paleo diets, and other healthy eating habits are important factors that affect such rapid growth in the global nut market. In these diets, nuts often play a crucial role as they contain lots of protein in combination with healthy fats and carbohydrates. Today’s rapid pace of life means people have less time to cook and prefer healthy snacks instead, which also results in increased nuts consumption. Nuts are filling type of food, and they are considered a healthy snack.

Their more active processing also plays an essential role in the growth of demand for nuts. In particular, the increased use of so-called nut flour also boosted global nuts consumption. The confectionery and snack industries also play a significant role, where the demand for healthier products containing nuts is growing.

The growing number of people going in for in sports contributes to growth in nuts consumption because they are recommended as a part of a healthy diet and lifestyle. It is also essential that large international corporations are investing heavily in promoting healthy snacks, and that is a locomotive for the demand for nuts.

At the same time, Andrii Yarmak noted that walnuts, traditional for Moldova, are significantly inferior in growth rates to cashews and almonds, as they are less versatile in consumption and processing. Thus, the share of walnuts in the world nut market is gradually decreasing. The expert also clarified that little-known niche nuts such as cola, betel nut, and macadamia have the highest sales growth rates. Their global exports are growing by 25-40% annually.

Read also: Macadamia is the fastest growing nut crop in the world

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Macadamia nuts are not yet widely known in Eastern Europe, but soon they can significantly influence the global nut market. Experts say they can affect the prices of walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, other nuts and goods sold in this segment.

Currently, macadamia plantations are actively expanding in Africa, especially in South Africa, in Australia, and China. This nut comes from Australia and is a large evergreen tree that can reach 12 meters in height. There are varieties with a hard and relatively less hard shell. The shell of hard macadamia nuts is five times harder than the shell of hazelnuts.

It is interesting to know that when cultivated, macadamia tree begins to bear fruit only seven years after planting, but then it provides high yields for more than 100 years. If not for such a long period before the first nuts appear, macadamia could increase its market presence even faster.

At the moment, the share of macadamia nuts in the global nut crops production has already reached almost 1.5%. And according to experts’ forecasts, this share will grow very quickly.

South Africa is currently the largest macadamia producer, harvesting about 54,000 tonnes of in-shell nuts annually (data of 2018). Thus, South Africa accounts for 27% of world production. Australia produces another 43 thousand tons of macadamia nuts.

In the next seven years, analysts predict that the global macadamia trade will quadruple. The area of macadamia orchards in South Africa tripled from 2013 to 2016, and production is expected to grow by 20% from 2018 to 2020.

This nut is highly popular with Chinese consumers. Therefore, China annually plants about 2 million macadamia trees, and, according to experts, will soon become the world leader in its production. China is expected to produce 63% of all macadamia nuts by 2025.

Macadamia was also introduced to Hawaii around 1881, where it was used as an ornamental plant and for reforestation. In 1948, Hawaii began cultivating it for the production of nuts, and then they reached California. Nowadays, the interest in interest in growing this nut crop in the United States sharply increased.

Countries such as South Africa, Australia, Kenya, Guatemala, Malawi, USA, and Zimbabwe are among the world’s largest exporters of macadamia. Besides, the leading importers are the USA, Vietnam, China, Germany, the Netherlands, and Japan.

Recently, macadamia started gaining popularity in Ukraine. In 2017, macadamia first entered the Ukrainian market. Already in 2018, the import of these nuts increased by almost four and a half times.

Read also: The global nut market is growing as fast as the berry market

Сообщение Macadamia is the fastest growing nut crop in the world появились сначала на EastFruit.