Farmers, traders count losses as Kagwe insists macadamia exports ban to stay
CS says the government's focus is on supporting farmers and processors rather than lifting the ban
Macadamia farmers and marketers are counting losses as the government insists the ban on exportation of raw in-shell nuts will not be lifted with prices nose-diving as a result.
After Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe first announced the retention of the ban at the end of February this year, dealers said the prices of macadamia dropped drastically by upto Ksh 60 per kilogramme.
According to Johnson Kihara, a farmers’ leader and exporter, the prices tumbled down from a high of between Ksh 140 to Ksh 161 per kilogramme to between Ksh 80 and Ksh 90, soon after Kagwe’s announcement.
“Farmers are very unhappy and worried about the future of macadamia growing as the government continues to gamble with the sector, which fetches the country Ksh 6 billion yearly in export earnings” said Kihara.
He noted that currently there are about 200 containers of macadamia nuts in stores that are yet to be licensed by the Agricultural Food Authority (AFA) for export.
Kihara, who is the Chairman Nut Traders Association of Kenya (NUTAK), says they continue to incur huge losses since AFA charges Sh 54,000 for each of the 27-ton container as the impasse over the exportation ban continues.
He noted that the association, through his Fairnuts Company, has written to the CS asking for approval to export the pending in-shell macadamia consignments in their warehouses, but there has been no response so far.
Besides, he noted that new players have been allowed to export the nuts even as processors maintained there is no market for the product in the US.
“It is like we are being told to close our businesses for other persons to open theirs. Our market is in China, not the US. This is not fair at all,” said the official.
Kihara alleges that large sums of money have exchanged hands with a view to influencing government officials to coerce farmers and marketers to sell the produce to a particular market.
When Kagwe announced the beginning of the harvesting season for mature macadamia nuts for this year, starting from March 1st, he at the same time upheld the current ban of export of all raw, in-shell nuts, maintaining that the government’s policy stance is well-meaning.
“The decision is informed by a commitment to ensuring that the industry adheres to the law, as enunciated in the AFA Act, the Oil Crops (Nuts and Crops) Regulations of 2020 and various other national, regional and international obligations,” Kagwe said in a press release issued on February 27.
The CS also made a plea for all macadamia farmers to register under the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management System (KIAMIS), so that government, farmers, development partners and the private sector are able to plan for the sector better.
He argued that the ultimate goals are to protect the nascent industry, raise both quality and quantity, protect farmers’ incomes and encourage local value addition in all agricultural value chains.
Kagwe added that AFA was tasked with convening, chairing, implementing and leading these policy directives immediately, through the formation of a multistakeholder Macadamia Nuts Standing Committee.
“This committee will also introduce traceability in the sector, in an effort to break into new markets, address various concerns about non-compliance by some industry players and improve the reputation and brand value of Kenya’s macadamia nuts,
‘Kenya ranks third globally in macadamia production and revenues, but is at risk of losing this market leadership if the current wrangles persist,” said Kagwe.
However, in the letter to the CS, Kihara said the prolonged storage of the consignments poses a significant risk as macadamia nuts are highly perishable.
“Any further delay in their exportation could lead to spoilage, resulting into severe economic losses for our farmers, company and the entire supply chain,” Kihara wrote.
He added; “Given the urgency of this situation, we kindly request the ministry’s intervention in granting us approval to proceed with export of the consignments.”
However, it is unlikely his efforts will bear fruit any time soon.
When he appeared before the Senate on Wednesday, Kagwe insisted the ban will remain in place to safeguard more than 200,000 jobs and boost local processing.
According to the CS, lifting the ban would hurt the crop’s value chain and thus undermine government efforts to promote value addition and local industrial growth, which will help safeguard 200,000 jobs.
“Between July 2023 and February 2025, Kenya earned Ksh 8.7 billion from exporting 10,670 tons of processed macadamia, compared to Ksh 2.3 billion from 14,384.6 tons of raw macadamia,” Kagwe told senators.
He said that as opposed to raw macadamia, which fetch Ksh 161 per kilogramme, processed macadamia goes for Ksh 816 per kilogramme.
This contradicts Kihara’s figure of Ksh 6 billion yearly earning from export of in-shell nuts.
Kagwe said the government’s focus is on supporting farmers and processor rather than lifting the ban, adding that a multi-stakeholder Macadamia Nuts Standing Committee will deliberate on farm gate prices and develop a mechanism to determine farm gate prices to avoid farmer exploitation.
“This may be achieved through collaboration with county governments and the key value chain players,” he said.
