For farmers in the Central Highlands, growing macadamia nuts has not turned out to be the money-spinner they had expected.

In the last few years many have grown macadamia trees but without any research or guidance from related authorities about the climate and soil required for the tree or how to plant it and take care.

In 2010 – 11 farmers in Tuy Duc District in Dak Nong Province grew the trees on five hectares on a trial basis. It now has 678ha, the largest area under the crop in the province.

Only 17 per cent yield nuts, but the output is not steady and most farmers do not earn enough money.

In Gia Lai Province, Kbang District is the largest producer of macadamia, with 400ha.

According to the district’s Department of Agriculture, the climate and soil there are good for the trees and there are no diseases, but a kilogramme of the nuts only fetches around VND60,000 (US$2.7).

But Tran Vinh, deputy head of the Central Highlands Forestry and Agriculture Science and Technology Institute told Nguoi Lao Dong (Labourers) newspaper: “The tree has only been grown in the Central Highlands for around 10 years, which is not long enough to gauge its economic worth.”

He said the Government has already issued a master plan for macadamia, but it is for the entire region.

“To avoid losses to farmers, local authorities should provide guidance and development plans. The tree grows best at heights where it is not windy, not too hot or too cold.”

But Vinh was worried about demand for the nuts and said: “Macadamia should be processed within a short time after harvest to ensure best quality and prices.

“Many farmers call and ask me where they can sell their macadamia because no big company wants to buy large quantities for export.”

While the nuts do fetch a lot of money, he said farmers have no information on how to take care of the tree, which has led to the current instability.

“We warned farmers to grow macadamia along with coffee to avoid cutting all the coffee trees at the same time. But they have yet to earn money from it, he said.

The general director of the Viet Nam Macadamia Association, Huynh Ngoc Huy, said growing the tree is highly profitable and farmers should not worry about demand.— VNS