It is illegal to export raw macadamia nuts and any individual or corporate caught doing so will be penalised, Agriculture PS Richard Lesiyampe has said.
He spoke at the groundbreaking of Sasini Ltd macadamia processing plant in Ndumberi, Kiambu county.
Lesiyampe said the government has discouraged the export of raw nuts because they want to develop the local industry.
“You cannot just come from nowhere because the prices are good and start collecting nuts,” he said.
“Companies are investing huge amounts of money in setting up processing plants and here we have brokers or middlemen who want to reap where they did not plant. The government will not allow it.”
Restricting export
The government will review laws and regulations and put in place stringent measures under which one can export macadamia nuts, the PS added.
“We have arrested and taken to court people we caught, particularly in Thika and Kiambu. We are going to put up stringent measures where one should show they have supported the development of the crop, done research and have been involved in value addition and employed people. [It’s only] then that we will allow you [to export the nuts],” Lesiyampe said.
In May, Maragua MP Peter Kamande petitioned Parliament, on behalf of macadamia farmers, to repeal Section 43 of the Fisheries and Food Authority Act 2013, which bans export of raw produce except with written authority from the CS or with the approval of the National Assembly.
In June, farmers from Mt Kenya petitioned the government to lift the ban on export of raw macadamia nuts.
The ban was imposed in 2015 to stop exploitation of farmers by foreigners and was also intended to create jobs for youths engaged in processing the nuts before they are exported.
Processing
Sasini will set up a Sh400 million macadamia factory as part of revenue diversification strategy. It plans to hire more than 3,000 people once the plant is complete.
The processing plant will be set up on a 20-acre farm next to its coffee mills in Kiambu county. The location is proposed for a Special Economic Zone, a protectionist area where manufacturers benefit from incentives such as tax holidays.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange’s listed firm has embarked on inter-planting of macadamia with coffee bushes, board member Naushad Merali said.
General manager James Muriithi said Sasini has planted more than 2,000 macadamia seedlings, which they will sell to farmers at a subsidised cost of Sh250.
Farmers are expected to make Sh300,000 per hectare after sale of the nuts and Sasini will look for direct markets abroad for better returns to the farmers, he said.
Muriithi said Sasini has developed macadamia nuts varieties—Muranga 20, Kiambu 3, Embu 1 and Kirinyaga 15. It takes four to five years to get economical production from a newly established macadamia orchard, he added.
