In Vo Giang hamlet, Quai Nua commune of Tuan Giao district in Dien Bien province, Ca Van Than and his family members are leading comfortable lives thanks to macadamia nuts.

Than said that in the past he cultivated cassava, maize and rice, but the income was modest because the fields gave low yield. In 2016, he began working for a macadamia plantation project. He pulls up weeds and protects the field. He receives VND5 million a month for this job.

“I am both working for the project as a hired worker and cooperating with the enterprise to grow macadamia,” he explained. 

The enterprise spends money on seeds, techniques and agricultural materials, while he has land. The cost for one hectare is VND110 million for five years on average, of which VND50 million is from provincial support and VND60 million from the enterprise. 

“When trees bear fruit, the enterprise has the responsibility of collecting macadamia nuts for processing. There are 280 plants for each hectare of land and every 5-year-old plant gives 7 kilograms of nuts. On average, one hectare brings the revenue of VND150 million.”

In Yen Trach commune in Lang Son, Nguyen Manh Hung said he is the first farmer growing macadamia in the province. His orchard is 12-13 years old. He now can harvest macadamia on six hectares and the yield rises year after year. Macadamia is a perennial plant, with a harvest cycle of 80-90 years, so the older it is, the higher yield farmers can expect.

Hung not only grows macadamia, but also runs a macadamia nut processing plant. In 2021, he harvested 37 tons of fresh nuts and processed 12 tons of products, which brought revenue of VND2 billion.

Processed macadamia products are selling in northern provinces and some provinces of the Central Highlands. The products are also available at 16 supermarkets in the north.

As the macadamia growing area remains modest, which is not enough for the processing plant, Than has to seek materials from other sources. He has cooperated with locals to grow macadamia on 10 hectares to expand the material growing area.

Huynh Ngoc Huy, Secretary General of the Vietnam Macadamia Association, said that macadamia is a perennial plant, and it helps green barren soil. It brings high economic value: from the eighth year of plantation, macadamia can bring profit of VND250 million after deducting costs.

Huy said macadamia is a crop with great potential. Its nuts have very high value, which can be used to make cooking oil, nutritional products and cosmetics. In the world, macadamia nuts only account for about 2 percent of the total dry nut industry. Therefore, macadamia is always in short supply.

In Vietnam, annual macadamia nut output is about 8,500 tons. Products are distributed in the domestic market and exported to South Korea and Japan.

Huy said he has been to Dubai to attend a conference about macadamia. Many large enterprises in Dubai said they want to cooperate with Vietnam to develop macadamia plantation and processing. However, he said they need to wait until 2025, when the growing area is large enough for large-scale production.

Huy said the the macadamia price in Vietnam is higher than in Australia. 

High profit 

Tran Cong Nhi, general director of Him Lam Dien Bien Macadamia, after four years of trial cultivation which brought good results, since 2016, the company has been expanding the growing area. After three years, 1,000 hectares of macadamia were developed. It is expected that the company would have 10,000 hectares by 2025. 

“Macadamia is suitable to Dien Bien. The revenue from macadamia is beyond expectations,” Nhi said.

Huy believes that macadamia is more suitable to northwestern provinces than the Central Highlands. However, he recommends growing macadamia in chains and building concentrated growing areas. If cultivation is fragmented, it will be difficult to build large-scale processing plants.

LienViet Post Bank is running a program to provide loans to macadamia growers. People receive money in the first year of cultivation. The disbursement will continue in the next years, and from the fifth year, when macadamia plants bear fruits, the bank will begin collecting debts. 

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh in March approved a plan on developing macadamia in a sustainable way in 2021-2030, which says there would be 75,000-95,000 hectares in northwestern provinces, and 45,000 in the Central Highlands.

US$1 = VND23,000

Chau Giang