The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) has announced a two-and-a-half-month ban on the harvesting and trading of locally produced macadamia nuts, citing immature crop development and the need to safeguard Kenya’s premium quality reputation.
The ban, which takes effect on December 1, 2025, and runs until February 15, 2026, will apply to all value-chain actors, including processors, exporters, importers and marketing agents.
In a statement on Tuesday, AFA Director-General Bruno Linyiru said the temporary freeze follows findings from a recent survey indicating that a large portion of the crop is still growing and has not reached full maturity.
“The Authority has established that a substantial portion of the crop is still undergoing physiological development... The closure period will allow adequate time for the nuts to mature fully and meet export quality standards,” said Dr Linyiru.
The directive, implemented through the Nuts and Oils Directorate, seeks to align harvesting and processing with natural maturity patterns to maintain high kernel quality, oil content, and shelf life — attributes that have helped position Kenyan macadamia among the world’s most sought-after varieties.
AFA said the measure is also aimed at protecting farmers from post-harvest losses and low farm-gate prices, which typically follow premature harvesting when nuts have low oil content and poor drying characteristics.
Kenya, one of the world’s top macadamia exporters, has in recent years faced fluctuating quality and volatile prices blamed on early picking and unregulated trading by middlemen.
The Authority said it will intensify field inspections across the main growing zones, in Central, Eastern, and Rift Valley regions, to enforce compliance, warning that traders found violating the closure will face legal penalties.
Processors have in the past supported the seasonal closure, arguing that Kenya’s competitiveness in premium nut markets depends on meeting strict moisture and kernel standards demanded by international buyers.
Section 43 of the Agriculture and Food Authority Act, 2013, prohibits the export of raw macadamia except with written approval from the Agriculture Cabinet Secretary.
Last year, processors faced heightened competition from Chinese buyers after the government temporarily lifted the export ban on raw nuts, known as nut-in-shell (NIS), to address a glut that had driven farm-gate prices down from a high of Sh180 per kilogramme to Sh30.
Local processors were unable to absorb the surplus due to weak demand for processed kernels in key export markets such as the United States.
By easing the restriction, the government sought to open new markets and reduce stockpiles held by farmers.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2025, Kenya had 11,090 hectares under macadamia production in 2024, producing 51,200 tonnes worth Sh4.95 billion.
