Macadamias look to India for export growth

The Australian macadamia industry has its eyes firmly set on India as the next major export destination.

Australia recently ratified an interim Indian free trade agreement and the two nations are pushing to finalise a full deal by the end of the year.

While it currently sits at 21 per cent, the trade tariff with India will incrementally decrease to 0pc from 2028 onwards for macadamia nuts.

With a population of 1.38 billion, there is good reason to entice consumers to embrace the Australian native nut.

Australian Macadamia Society marketing manager, Jacqui Price, spoke at Hort Connections 2023 in June about the industry's experience making inroads to India.

She said Australia was expected to reach 80,000 tonnes in production by 2030.

The rise in output also coincides with a rising global supply with the world crop forecasted to double.

Macadamias boast a farmgate value of $334 million with 80pc of the crop exported.

The industry first started looking at India in 2018 but the supply chain wasn't ready according to Ms Price. It revisited the viability of exports in 2021.

She said there was an increasing demand for healthier and new types of products such as ice cream, among wealthy young consumers in India.

This is expected to be the main driver for foreign imports.

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"Increasing consumer demand for healthier products and increasing popularity among wealthier consumer segments are expected to result in retail growth at 9.2pc compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the forecast period (2021-2025)," Ms Price said.

"Tree nuts are perceived as healthy. There is a long history of the Indian tradition with tree nuts."

Taste trials in India showed Indians identified macadamias as a premium nut with a unique taste and buttery mouthfeel.

While that is a positive response, the greater hurdle is that many Indians simply do not know what a macadamia nut is.

Ms Price said only 35pc of online consumers had even heard of a macadamia.

Compared to the likes of Californian almonds which spend millions on the market with a heavy health message, macadamia nuts have a substantial hill to climb.

The Indian market for imported macadamia nuts is currently very small in volume and is serviced by only a few importers.

Should Australia be able to get its foot in the door of India, it also faces the challenge of production costs with Australia's price point viewed as expensive compared to African suppliers.

Not deterred by the challenges but spurred on by the opportunity, the macadamia industry plans to push ahead with key investment activities such as partnering with premium restaurants and gourmet chefs.

It also hopes to launch a Mumbai Macadamia Festival in September or October which will involve restaurants and food outlets highlighting the nut as the hero ingredient.

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