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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Macadamia nuts are among the most expensive nuts in the world and are one of Hawaii’s biggest crops. About 600 small farms mac nut farms existed throughout the state in 2014.
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Hawaii macadamia farmers have broken a 26-year-old record for the value of their crop thanks mostly to higher prices for the already pricey nuts.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a report Friday pegging the value of the state’s macadamia nut crop at $45.6 million for the annual season that ended June 30. That was up 14 percent from the prior season’s value of $40 million and broke the $44.9 million record set in 1990.
The report, which is based on surveys of farmers and produced with the help of the state Department of Agriculture, said the new record was mainly due to higher prices farmers received for their crop.
Farmers received 97 cents per pound on average last season, up from 87 cents in the prior two seasons. Last season’s average price was a record. The previous high was 90 cents in 1989, according to USDA data that goes back to 1946.
Hawaii’s largest macadamia producer, Royal Hawaiian Orchards LP, said in its most recent annual report published in March that prices were higher due to strong demand in the face of limited supply on the mainland.
Hawaii mac nut farmers also boosted production last season by 1 million pounds, to 47 million pounds. That was well short of the record 58 million pounds set in 1998 and repeated in 2007.
Macadamia nuts are among the most expensive nuts in the world, and represent one of the state’s biggest crops. The USDA no longer reports how many mac nut farms exist in Hawaii, though there were about 600 mainly small farms in 2014 with a combined 18,000 acres of trees.
Last season there were still 18,000 acres of mac nut trees statewide, representing about 1.3 million trees, the report said.