Why Are Macadamia Nuts So Expensive?

Macadamias are delicious and nutritious in small servings, but they're also the most expensive nuts in the world. Learn what they are and how they're grown in this episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
rain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam. Here. First things first, macadamia
nuts are not actually nuts. Yes, I know, it's ridiculous.
It's right there in the name for goodness sake, but
much like brazil nuts. Again, what is it with these
misleading names. The macadamia is in fact a seed, and

(00:23):
although they've become a signature staple of Hawaiian agriculture, macadamias
are actually native to Australia. We spoke with Glenn Sacco,
and economic development specialist with the Hawaii County Department of
Research and Development. He explained macadamia nuts are originally from Australia,
but much of the early research, breeding work, and quality
development were done by the University of Hawaii on the

(00:46):
island of Hawaii. These cultivars are suited for the Hawaii
climate and do not produce the same high quality nut
when grown in foreign conditions. Cultivars is short for cultivated varieties,
and these are specific types of plays selected and cultivated
by humans. In this case, the plant is a large
bushy tree that starts producing macademia nuts by the time

(01:08):
it's about four or five years old, so how exactly
did these Australian cultivars end up in Hawaii. For that,
you can thank one William Purvis, who planted the first
macademia tree on the Big Island in one Purvis didn't
initially intend for the tree seeds to be a hit.
He planted the trees as wind breaks for the sugarcane fields.

(01:29):
The plants were functional and also happened to be quite pretty,
but he didn't suspect they could bear such delectable and
profitable seeds. About a decade later, one R. A. Jordan
planted some macademia trees on Oahu, the trees that researchers
think is the ancestor of most of Hawaii's trees, and
the nut quickly became a popular snack among businessmen who

(01:50):
came to Hawaii to profit off of sugar plantations. In
the early nineteen hundreds, the Hawaiian Agricultural Experiment Station was
established to get new crops growing on the island. Since
this newly established United States territory was relying almost exclusively
on sugar following the collapse of the coffee market in
the nineteen twenties, the government offered a five year tax

(02:10):
exemption on land that was used solely for macademia production,
but most farmers weren't interested. That is, until roasted macadamia
nuts started popping up in stores and consumers went wild.
Demand for the nuts went up, and the number of
trees planted for nut production more than doubled from nineteen
thirty two to nineteen thirty eight. Sales slumped a bit

(02:31):
after that, but by the nineteen fifties, Hawaii was churning
out macadaemia goodies to stack fans throughout the world, and
major companies were making a pretty penny off of them.
Speaking of why are macadamia is so expensive? While macadamia's
clearly have an interesting past and they taste heavenly coated
in thick layers of chocolate, do they really merit their

(02:51):
often exorbitant price tag. After all, At around twenty five
dollars a pound, they're considered the most expensive nuts in
the world, So what's the deal? A bunch of factors
go into the price, but a lot of them come
down to the fact that macadamias can't be grown effectively
on the continental United States, and shipping them in from
Hawaii is costly, and growing things in Hawaii is costly

(03:13):
to begin with, because it's a small archipelago that some
three thousand miles that's nearly five thousand kilometers away from
anything in Macadamius made the news for a seventeen percent
price increase, which Sacho attributed to Hawaii's fixed harvest acreage
and a higher global demand. Furthermore, a Sacho said, it

(03:34):
takes seven years for a macadamia nut tree to produce
a crop. Demand remains high and prices are up to
a dollar twenty per pound. Despite this, there's tremendous pressure
on the industry. The agricultural labor shortage continues and that's
caused wages and benefit costs to increase. Invasive pests continue
to affect the orchard health and production. The Hawaii land

(03:56):
prices are so high that orchard expansion is too costly
and producers can't wait for seven years. Therefore, the production
acreage remains steady despite the increased demand for the nuts. Okay,
so that explains the cost, But are they actually good
for you? High fat foods used to be the most

(04:17):
demonized of all kitchen staples, basically because of a very
effective and sort of insidious marketing campaign put out by
the sugar industry, but thanks to current research and slightly
less hysteric marketing hype, such things as nuts, oils, and
seeds are getting their due as healthy options. We also
spoke with registered dietitian at Danielle Burniture. She said macadamia

(04:39):
nuts are high in mono unsaturated fats, low in net carbohydrates,
and a good source of copper, manganese, and diamond. Mono
Unsaturated fatty acids have been shown to lower L d
L cholesterol levels the bad kind, especially when they're used
in place of saturated fats and refined carbohydrates in one's diet.
Net carbs are important to consider because it clues you

(05:01):
in on how much fiber something contains in relation to
the amount of total carbohydrates present. Having more fiber is
crucial to gut health. Copper assists with iron absorption and
transport in the body, while manganese and diamon are essential
for carbohydrate metabolism. And while all of that sounds great,
we still live in a society that tends to obsess
over numbers. So at two hundred and three calories and

(05:24):
twenty one grams of fat per serving, a single serving
being just ten to twelve nut kernels, and that's just nuts,
not nuts, dust and chocolate are macadamia is really a
wholesome snack. Burniture said. Although nuts are hiring calories, they're
also packed with fiber, heart healthy fats, protein, vitamins, and
minerals essential to our diets. Having a small handful is

(05:47):
a filling and nutritious snack to tied you over between meals,
or it can be used as a way to round
out a meal on top of a salad or yogurt bowl.
They are a particularly good substitute for packaged ultra processed
snacks like potato chips. Calorie for calorie, an ounce of
chips and ounce of nuts are equivalent, but the protein
and fiber in the nuts will keep you energized, full

(06:07):
and focused. She said. Don't fear fats. They're essential for
hormone health, optimal brain function, and absorption of many nutrients.
And according to Sacho, macadamia's aren't just a delicious treat
for humans, they can be healthy snacks for rodents too.
He said. Some pet rat owners buy the nuts in
the shell to give to the rats to gnaw on.

(06:29):
This helps wear down the rats teeth Today's episode was
written by Michelle Konstantinovski and produced by Tyler Clay. Brain
Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works.
For more and this months of other nutritious topics, visit
our home planet, how stuff Works dot com. And for
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(06:50):
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