Pataza

Metcash Expo 2023 and Macadamia Nut update

Metcash Expo 2023

We had the pleasure of attending the Metcash Expo 2023 on the Gold Coast in Queensland. This is an annual event for Metcash customers in Australia (IGA, Foodworx, Drakes Foodland) as well as international visitors from the Asia Pacific region. One of the advantages of the Metcash Expo is that all of the major manufacturers exhibit as part of their Trading Terms with Metcash.

Famous brands in attendance at the Metcash Expo included Mars, Mondelez, Nestle, Proctor & Gamble, Unilever, Coca Cola, Tobacco companies, Smiths/Pepsi, General Mills, Kelloggs as well as local brands – Bundaberg, The Market Grocer, a2 Milk. JC’s Nuts, Vita-Soy, Kinrise. The attendance of visitors was amazing, with many Australian and International visitors using this as their annual break from work.

We met with many of our suppliers and also customers in attendance, and there were some great deals available from all of the suppliers.

All up, this event was a great success for our company and we are really looking forward to attending the 2024 Metcash Expo.

Macadamia Nuts

Macadamia Nuts exports have also been a major focus for our company over the past month. Our company exports over 500 tons of Macadamia Nuts, both Macadamia Nuts In Shell and Macadamia Kernel. We work with several quality Australian Macadamia Nut processors to export what is arguably the best Macadamia Nuts in the world.

The Macadamia Harvest in 2023 has been quite difficult,  with estimates being 30% below expectations. There has been a perfect storm of Low Prices to the farmer and reduced yield and quality of the Macadamia Nuts produced.

Over the past 2 seasons, prices for Australian Macadamia Nuts have been very high, however, 2023 has seen a large correction in price, driven by Global market conditions. This has mean that farmgate prices for Macadamia Nuts have been below $2.00/KG USD, which is below the farmers cost to produce. There are many cases where farmers have simply left Macadamia crop on the ground to rot rather than collecting and drying and losing money.

Also the 2022 and 2023 harvests have been below expectations in terms of yield and quality – this is a result of climate change and difficult climate conditions. So farmers that normally harvest 300-400 tons of In Shell Macadamia have only harvested 150 – 200 tons.

There has also been a trend for customers seeking Super Premium specifications 26% SKR and 24-26MM in shell. This has been difficult to achieve, as only 20% of In Shell Macadamia Nuts meets this specification.

Nonetheless, we have sold a record amount of In Shell Macadamia Nuts to Vietnam, China and Korea.

We welcome new Macadamia Nut customers, and we are now discussing orders for 2024 season.