With half of Australians unaware that the macadamia nut is native to Australia, growers took to the skies on Australia Day to get their message across.
Only half of the more than 1,200 Australians that took part in a Newspoll survey could identify the macadamia but as Australian, with 32 percent claiming its Brazilian, 16 percent listing Hawaii as its place of origin and another 16 percent thought the nut originated from South Africa.
The research also revealed respondents had very little knowledge and understanding of macadamia farming with only 25 percent correctly saying harvest begins at the start of Autumn. A quarter of survey participants (26 percent) wrongly named the Northern Territory as a key growing area, 14 percent South Australia and 13 percent Victoria.
Macadamias are predominantly grown in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales and up the Queensland coast, with much smaller plantings in Western Australia producing some 40,000 tonnes each year.
To improve the understanding of macadamias, the Australian Macadamia Society took to the skies on Australia Day, hiring a skywriter to get the message across, with onlookers tweeting and posting on social media to help spread the word.
Australia is the world leader in production, research, marketing and development, and is the largest producer and exporter, delivering macadamias to more than 40 countries worldwide. Between $120 and $130 million worth of Australian macadamia products are exported each year.