HONOLULU — For years, travelers to Hawaii have brought home present boxes of the islands’ well-known chocolate-covered macadamia nuts for pals and household, however these days numerous of the kernels in the bundle may not be Hawaii-grown.
This obscure truth is emerging at the state Legislature as legislators battle over legislation that would force macadamia-nut processors of renowned brandnames like Mauna Loa to reveal whether their items include nuts from outside the islands.
Growers desire the procedure to secure their crops and farms, while industrial nut brandnames state what Hawaii requires is more capability to procedure mac nuts inyourarea.
It’s the newest tussle over labels for farming items from a particular geographical location, a subject familiar to Hawaii due to long-running conflicts over Kona coffee. It echoes comparable difficulties dealtwith by maple syrup manufacturers in Vermont and distilleries in Champagne, which have had to fend off shimmering whitewine manufacturers from other locations attempting to suitable the French area’s name.
Foreign nuts are being “marketed skillfully as Hawaiian,” stated Jeffrey Clark, chief operating officer of a trust that owns Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company.
“It’s not clear to customers what is Hawaii grown and what is foreign grown,” Clark informed state legislators throughout a current committee hearing. “It develops a issue for the farmers here in Hawaii.”
The stakes are high for Hawaii’s 600-plus macadamia nut farmers, numerous of whom have little operations. Combined, they produced $62.7 million in nuts in 2021, simply ahead of coffee in worth and 2nd just to seed farms that researchstudy genetically crafted corn.
Growers state they can’t discover purchasers for their kernel and unharvested nuts are falling from their trees. Some farmers are offering up and attempting to sell their devices.
In action, state legislators are due to vote on legislation Wednesday that would need customer bundles to reveal when they consistof macadamia nuts grown outdoors of Hawaii. The step would take impact on Jan. 1, 2026, if it endsupbeing law. The guv h