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Hawaii is known for its macadamia nuts. Lawmakers want to keep it that way
April 28, 2024
HONOLULU (AP) — For decades, tourists to Hawaii have brought home gift boxes of the islands’ famous chocolate-covered macadamia nuts for friends and family, but these days many of the kernels in the package might not be Hawaii-grown.
This little-known fact is surfacing at the state Legislature as lawmakers wrestle over legislation that would force macadamia-nut processors of iconic brands like Mauna Loa to disclose whether their products contain nuts from outside the islands.
Growers want the measure to protect their crops and farms, while commercial nut brands say what Hawaii needs is more capacity to process mac nuts locally.
It’s the latest tussle over labels for agricultural products from a specific geographic area, a topic familiar to Hawaii due to long-running disputes over Kona coffee. It echoes similar challenges faced by maple syrup producers in Vermont and distilleries in Champagne, which have had to fend off sparkling wine producers from other places trying to appropriate the French region’s name.
Foreign nuts are being “marketed cleverly as Hawaiian,” said Jeffrey Clark, chief operating officer of a trust that owns Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company.
state lawmakers are due to vote on legislation Wednesday that would require consumer packages to disclose when they contain macadamia nuts grown outside of Hawaii. The measure would take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, if it becomes law. The governor has not indicated whether he will sign it.
Macadamia nut trees are native to Australia and were introduced to Hawaii in 1881 by a Scotsman who managed a Big Island sugar mill. The first major attempt at commercial planting dates to 1948. Chocolate-covered macadamia nuts took off the following decade. In the 1970s and ‘80s, Hawaii harvested more than 10 times the amount of the next four major producers combined.
But today, Australia, South Africa, China and Kenya all grow more than Hawaii. In 2022, the state’s production plummeted 29% from the year before, according to industry data.
