Murang'a: Macadamia farmers and traders have decried huge losses resulting from an extended ban on the exportation of in-shell nuts. The farmers expressed their grievances after the government reinstated the ban on the export of unprocessed macadamia on January 2nd this year, leading to substantial losses as the nuts remain unsold and are deteriorating in their farms and stores.
According to Kenya News Agency, during a meeting held between the farmers and traders in Murang'a, they argued that the government has not addressed their plight despite writing several letters to the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary seeking an extension for exporting in-shell nuts for one more year. The ban on the exportation of unprocessed nuts was initially lifted on November 2, 2023, by former CS Mithika Linturi and expired on November 2nd last year, after which former CS Andrew Karanja extended the period to January 2nd this year.
Nuts Traders Association of Kenya (NUTRAK) chairman Johnson Kihara stated that the government's delay in addressing the farmers' grievances has led to significant losses as many farmers and traders are stuck with stocks of macadamia at their homes. Kihara noted that traders have also accumulated large stocks because they have not been granted exportation certificates by the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA). He highlighted that he has three containers of nuts in his stores, and without export certificates, he cannot sell them or purchase more from farmers.
The chairman further revealed that Lenana Processors, a member of NUTRAK, has 15 containers of stock, Edenswin Traders Ltd has five unsold containers, and Topnut Mac and Commodities has 12. With one container estimated to be worth Sh. 20 million, traders are facing substantial losses as their operations are nearly grinding to a halt.
A section of players in the macadamia sub sector is pushing for the removal of section 43 of the AFA Act, which prohibits the exportation of raw nuts and oil crops. They argue that the law only benefits large-scale nut processors who can afford high-cost processing machines. Setting up macadamia processing machinery requires close to Sh. 500 million, a cost that many local investors cannot bear, yet international buyers are willing to purchase in-shell nuts at attractive prices.
On February 6, AFA announced an intensified crackdown in the sector following reports of rising malpractices, including the harvesting and processing of immature nuts, unauthorized trading by unlicensed individuals, smuggling of in-shell nuts out of the country, and improper mixing of rejected low-quality nuts with higher quality ones for sale.
Peter Maina, a Director at Topnut Mac and Commodities, stated that the crackdown goes against a court order issued by Justice Lawrence Mugambi in November last year. This order followed a suit filed by a trader, Eric Mwirigi, challenging a ministerial order suspending macadamia harvesting from November 2 to March 1 to prevent the harvesting of immature nuts.
Maina also claimed that AFA excluded them from a public participation process that appointed the Macadamia Nut Processors Association (MACNUT) as the sole exporters of macadamia nuts. He criticized the process conducted in September last year as it was held in private hotels and failed to include all stakeholders.
Farmer Murithi Gichabi warned that without urgent measures, the sector could be crippled by these challenges, leaving farmers with inadequate payments. He noted that 65 percent of all nuts sold in the country are in-shell, while only 35 percent are kernels. Gichabi urged the Ministry of Agriculture and AFA to convene a stakeholders' forum to address the challenges facing the macadamia sector, emphasizing the substantial investments farmers have made in the crop.