Macadamia cultivation – a crop with high commercial value on the international market – has seen remarkable growth in recent years, reaching a harvest of 5,000 tonnes in the 2023-2024 crop year, with good prospects for the current harvest, the newspaper Noticias reported on Thursday, 2 January .
Figures recently provided in Maputo by the National Almond Institute point to an increase in exports of this crop, ensuring a cash inflow of more than 1.7 billion meticals (27 million dollars), as a result of the export of 3,735 tonnes, resulting from a total production of more than 5,000 tonnes.
The main destinations for macadamia nuts produced in the country include South Africa, China and Vietnam. According to the Almond Institute, in global terms, production of this crop has been growing every season, with new producers appearing. By way of example, the country currently has 58 commercial companies dedicated to almond cultivation.
The provinces of Manica, Niassa and Maputo have the highest concentration of commercial producers, ranging from 15 to 18, with plantations covering more than 8,000 hectares.
The institute says that the country has 23 family growers cultivating this crop, covering 478 hectares, although there are ongoing actions to raise awareness, encourage and incentivise the expansion of production, given its high commercial value on the international market.
As well as macadamias, the above-mentioned provinces also lead the way in growing lychees, most of which are also exported to Europe, especially the Netherlands, France and the UK.
Last year’s lychee exports earned the state more than 189 million meticals (three million dollars), despite the climatic challenges.
In fact, in the coming weeks Mozambique will be placing lychees on the European market outside the usual period, which is proof of the efforts made to grow the crop, which also has great commercial value.