Macadamia plant can be a good choice for farmers in the northwestern and Central Highland regions seeking to improve their income, said experts at a recent seminar in Hanoi.

Macadamia nut is dubbed as “the Queen of Nuts” for its outstanding nutrition value. Experts said that compared to other common edible seeds such as almonds and cashews, macadamias are high in fat and low in protein. They have the highest amount of monounsaturated fats of any known seed.

The plant, indigenous to Australia, was introduced to Vietnam in 2002 for trial cultivation. Local scientists have tested and found that the northwestern and Central Highland regions have conditions best suited to the plant.

In particular, macadamia grown in Vietnam have produced the same and even higher yield than those grown in Australia – the world top grower of the plant.

According to Nguyen Tri Ngoc, Director of the Thanh Tay Institute for Agro-Forestry Technology Research and Development, Vietnam has all necessary conditions for the development of macadamia cultivation.

Meanwhile, Bui Xuan Trinh from the Government Office, cautioned that as macadamia is a new plant, it is necessary to make careful steps in this direction. He said there needs to be a specific plan to connect farmers and enterprises to ensure stable markets for the product.

Participants discussed measures to introduce the plant as a new option of good profitability to farmers, thus expanding its cultivation, as well as investment in processing.

It was reported at the seminar that Vietnam currently has about 2,000 hectares of macadamia with average output of 3 tonnes per hectare.-VNA