Big Island macadamia nut farmers lose a big customer
MacFarms has stopped buying nuts from farmers because it has too many
Associated Press
KAILUA-KONA » MacFarms of Hawaii LLC has stopped buying macadamia nuts from local suppliers for the first time in decades because it is producing too many of the nuts on its own.
The decision by the state's second largest macadamia nut grower and processor may hurt local farmers -- especially small-scale farmers in South Kona on the Big Island -- for whom the crop is an important source of income.
"To our knowledge, this is the first time this has happened in the last 25 years," said Judy Magin, executive director of the Hawaii Macadamia Nut Association. "It's a tough situation, particularly challenging for farmers."
The decision comes after Hawaii macadamia nut growers produced a net 60 million pounds of the crop in the 2005-2006 growing season -- the most since the government began compiling such statistics in 1946.
The previous record was a 58 million pounds grown in 1997-1998, said Steve Gunn, deputy director of the Hawaii field office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics section.
MacFarms says it may resume buying the nuts from local growers if conditions change during the season, but the outlook is uncertain.
"We're not sure how things are going to pan out to in terms of deliveries of our orchard," said MacFarms President Hilary Brown. "We're also not sure of the situation in regard to the marketplace, which is somewhat depressed."
Mary Anne Maigret, who owns a macadamia nut orchard on 3.5 acres in Honaunau, expected to sell nuts to MacFarms this year after doing so last year.
MacFarms' announcement left her in "in limbo," she said.
Brown said the five-year contract that MacFarms signed in January with ML Macadamia Orchards LP, the state's largest grower, will remain in effect. That contract called for MacFarms to purchase between 4.5 million and 5.5 million pounds annually beginning next January.
"Anyone we have contracts with, we'll honor," Brown said. "The majority of farmers, though, don't ask for contracts and we haven't been pushing it."
Some Hawaii Macadamia Nut Association members and large processors have vowed to help farmers in need. Magin suggested struggling farmers contact the association for advice and contacts.
Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp., Hawaii's largest macadamia nut processor and a unit of the Hershey Co., is trying to work with individual growers to help.
Still, the company does not have an overly large need for nuts, said plant controller David Stark.