The price of South African premium whole macadamia nuts has plummeted since mid-November, due to a global oversupply and the fact that most people are not able to afford luxury items right now. The Mintec Benchmark Prices for premium whole macadamia nuts of South African origin, delivered on a CFR basis, plummeted by 21% in the four weeks to 15 December, to $14.1/kg (about R244). The benchmark is also down 28% year-on-year, weighed by ample global supply and the cost-of-living crisis, Fresh Plaza reported. Traders told Mintec that this is due to a big oversupply in the market, as well as consumer budgets tightening amid rising inflation. "Macadamias are viewed as a premium tree nut, and with consumer budgets tightening amid rising inflation, sales on macadamia products have taken a hit," a trader said. Due to supply disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, many customers have stock left and they are thus not buying in the same volumes as they normally would, and price is their main consideration. Production in China, the largest buyer of South Africa’s in-shell macadamias, is also expected to rise significantly according to trade sources. This is primarily due to the recently-planted trees reaching maturity, Mintec reported. This price drop should be good news for local lovers of the yummy nuts. "In theory, the price of your macadamias at something like Woolworths, that sells good quality nuts, should come down too," Alex Whyte, Green and Gold Macadamias’ sales manager, told Business Insider South Africa. He said unfortunately the South African market is flooded with nuts of lower quality. Macadamias South Africa has said that South African farmers are estimated to produce nearly 32% more nuts than in 2021. The updated forecast for 2022 is 70,139 tonnes dry nut-in-shell which is 12,416 tonnes higher than the first forecast of 57,723 tonnes dry nut-in-shell. The global macadamia industry is estimated to currently be worth $1,219.5 million and is forecast to a readjusted size of $1,422.5 million by 2028. South Africa has become the largest producer and exporter of the nut. Commercial production of macadamias in South Africa was established in the 1960s with production increasing so much over the years that South Africa has turned into Australia’s main competitor for the title of the world’s largest producer. Macadamias are indigenous to Australia and were first commercially produced in Hawaii in the 1880s.