Kenya's expanding macadamia industry faces harvest season turmoil due to a controversial Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA)-mandated harvesting window, sparking concerns over nut quality and sustainability.

• Over 60 percent of macadamia nuts delivered to processors reportedly fail to meet global quality standards, with only 10 percent qualifying as premium grade.
• Industry expert Charles Muigai warns that premature harvesting, triggered by uniform opening dates that ignore regional maturity variations, risks eroding Kenya’s global market reputation.
• Brokers are reportedly exploiting the absence of farm-gate grading by buying low-quality nuts at â‚ 50, mixing them with better produce, and reselling at â‚ 110, further depressing overall quality and impacting processor ability to meet stringent EU import requirements.