Macadamia why so expensive

The main reason is the slow harvesting process. While there are ten species of macadamia trees, only 2 produce the pricey nuts and it takes seven to 10 years for the trees to even begin producing nuts. The flowering trees originated in northeastern Australia and the nuts were eaten by the Australian aboriginal people. They called the trees "Kindal Kindal," but British colonists eventually renamed them macadamia, after Dr. John Macadam.

Despite originating in Australia, macadamia trees were first commercially grown in Hawaii. Hawaii has the perfect climate for the trees — they need lots of rain, rich soil, and warm weather to thrive, which means regions that don't meet those requirements have to import macadamia nuts all the way from Hawaii, South Africa, Latin America, or Australia.

And because it takes the trees anywhere from four to six months to flower, the nuts all mature at different times of the year. They're only harvested five to six times a year, typically by hand. Their thick shell, often removed before sale, makes it difficult to tell the ripe nuts from the unripe ones, making the harvesting process more work-intensive and costly.

Macadamias have become increasingly popular because of their high fat content. Macadamia nuts can be eaten raw or used in recipes. While high in fat, macadamia nuts contain primarily monounsaturated fat, which is the heart-healthy type of fat that can help reduce your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Luckily, there are many types of nuts, and each has a different price so let's check out how they rank in terms of cost.

Marcona Almonds. Macadamia Nuts. With an increase of approximately Rs 1, per kg as compared to the price last Diwali, pine nuts chilgoza are the most expensive dry fruit this season. As compared to the prices last year, the price per kg of pine nuts has gone up by Rs 1, Brazil nuts. These are about three times the size of macadamia nuts but are similarly high in fat. These are oily nuts that must be cooked before consumed. Like macadamia nuts, cashews have a creamy texture. While macadamia nuts originate and are grown in Australia , commercial production is mainly in Hawaii.

Some countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia also grow macadamia nuts, while trees can be found in California and Florida for the continental United States. Like the avocado, macadamia grows well in Hawaii, Florida, California , and the southernmost regions of Texas, where the soil is deeply fertile, well-draining, and slightly acidic; the rainfall is abundant; and there's little danger of frost.

Macadamia nuts Most nuts are high in phosphorus and not recommended for those following a renal diet. However, macadamia nuts are a delicious option for people with kidney problems. They are much lower in phosphorus than popular nuts like peanuts and almonds. Top 5 Healthiest Nuts Almonds. Almonds are known for being the nut highest in calcium and contain many other vitamins and minerals. Pecans contain dietary fiber, which is great for your digestion because fiber helps your body cleanse itself of toxins.

Macadamias last for at least five months at room temperature, if you store them properly. More if you keep them refrigerated or frozen. Keep the nuts in a an airtight container or freezer bag, in a dark place away from heat sources.

High Oxalate Content : Cashews have a relatively high oxalate content. When eaten in large quantities, this can lead to kidney damage and other chronic health problems. This means that farmers need to give these trees a lot of TLC before they can expect any return on their investment. They originated in the highlands of Queensland, Australia, but have been imported for agriculture into places like Hawaii, California, South Africa, Kenya, and Malawi. The trouble is, this type of land is really valuable agriculturally, and is used for planting other crops like avocados, tropical fruit, and coffee.

The land value in these regions also increases due to pressure from real estate and tourism. So, macadamia has to compete for space and its trees have to wait a while before they start bearing nuts — these factors mean that land available for macadamia is restricted, making them valuable as a happy consequence.

Moving onto the shelling process, this is another major contributor to the high price of macadamia nuts. Macadamia as the saying goes, is a hard nut to crack and for a harvest to be effectively processed this is currently done on an industrial scale.

Further issues that surround the shelling process itself include:. With high investment costs, farmers playing guessing games, and nuts getting busted in the line of duty, its makes sense that whole, shelled macadamia nuts are as highly sought-after as they are. Because of the limited kernel produce that macadamia processing factories can output, a secondary macadamia market has emerged in East Asia. This is a nut in shell NIS market where macadamia are bought unprocessed apart for a sawn incision in the shell and boiled in salted water before being sold as a snack.

The macadamia NIS market of course restricts supply in the shelled macadamia market, further driving up the price of this type of macadamia.