Government wants the country to become a top macadamia nuts exporter

Sosten Gwengwe, Minister of Trade and Industry has said that the government wants the country to become a top macadamia nuts exporter in the next five years.

Malawi is the third largest exporter of macadamia nuts in Africa after South Africa and Kenya, seventh globally.

Gwengwe said that the government has included the cash crop in the National Export Strategy II (NESII) as one way of diversifying from tobacco going forward.

He added that plans are underway to establish mega farms that will focus on production of macadamia nuts for export.

Greenson Nyirenda based economist at Catholic University of Malawi (Cunima) said it is possible for the country to become the largest producer and exporter of macadamia nuts in the world,however,there is need for the government to remove barriers to producing and exporting the crop.

Nyirenda added that , “it depends on incentives that are there because being number three or seven shows that we are not producing enough to surpass the other countries so what need to happen among others is to reduce the cost of production so that they should increase capacity.

President Lazarus Chakwera on March 16,2024, visited Tropha estate which processes and export macadamia, paprika and chilies and called on the industry to increase volumes of manufactured products to substitute imported ones that put a drain on foreign currency reserves.