Macadamias South Africa (SAMAC) is open to all role-players within the Macadamia value chain, which can be divided into growers, representing the bulk of the memberships, as well as handlers, nurseries and associate members. In 2020, the not for profit organisation had more than 780 members.
To join Macadamias South Africa (SAMAC), an applicant needs to fill in a form agreeing to comply and act according to the company’s code of conduct and pay a membership fee. SAMAC is also funded through statutory levies charged on each kilogram of nuts in shell.
Most of the grower members are situated in the traditional production areas of Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, but over the past few years, farmers from other regions, such as the Western Cape and Gauteng, have also joined in as production expanded to these regions.
The main growing areas are Levubu and Tzaneen in Limpopo, Hazyview to Barberton in Mpumalanga, coastal KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
The area under production increased by 5 887 ha in 2008 to 44 776 ha in 2019. KwaZulu-Natal remained the province that established the most hectares for the second year in a row, accounting for almost 40% of the total new planting. Mpumalanga planted the second-most, accounting for 36% of the planting, followed by Limpopo’s twenty-one percent of new plantings, according to SAMAC.
Macadamia nuts were already established in the Durban Botanical Gardens in South Africa in 1915, the source of which is still unknown. Comme...