Development of Tree Nuts in Papua New Guinea

There is a steady rise in the demand for nuts on the global market due to the insatiable appetite of health-conscious consumers. The global market demand is expected to increase by 11.1% through to 2030 (c.f. Post-Courier, 6th June, 2025: p.51).

The four main tree nuts are almond, cashew, walnut and pistachio, which was worth $42.7 million in 2021 (ibid.). The world’s leading exporter of these tree nuts is the United States of America, with 69% almond, 71% walnut and 62% pistachio. Major importers of these tree nuts include the European Union with 28%, China with 12%, India with 11%, Turkey with 9% and United Arab Emirates with 7% (ibid.).

In Papua New Guinea (PNG), the interest in tree nuts began in 2018 when the National Agriculture Research Institute launched the first galip nut product in Port Moresby. Today, several major growers are continuing to grow well over 600,000 galip tree nuts in some provinces. The Market for Village Farmers (MVF), a government agency responsible for assisting village farmers market their produce, is currently supporting two private sector companies in Madang and Rabaul, that introduced their galip nut products in June, 2024.

In spite of all the interest in tree nuts, challenges do exist. Examples of these challenges include poor quality of nuts supplied by farmers, inconsistent supply of nuts by farmers, high cost of manufacturing tree nut products, lack of essential machinery and equipment within the country for production and manufacturing of tree nut products and 95% of the nuts produced is wasted.

PNG has several tree nuts that have the potential to be developed for the local and international markets, but little is currently known about these species. These tree nut species include the okari nut (Terminalia kaernbachii), the karuka nut (Pandanus julianettii) and the Tahitian Chestnut (aka Aila (Inocarpus fagifer)). The nut of a shrub, of which the name is currently unknown, that tastes like peanut has recently been discovered in the Managalas Plateau of the Oro Province, and this species should be looked into as well.

The introduced cashew nut is already grown in PNG, but its cultivation is not widespread.

Galip nut naturally occurs in the provinces of Morobe, Madang, East New Britain and West New Britain. Okari nut is confined to the provinces of Central, Oro, Morobe, Madang, East Sepik and Sandaun. The Tahitian Chestnut is widespread, occurring in many of the coastal areas of the country. Karuka nut is confined to the seven highlands provinces of the country as well some high altitudes areas of some coastal provinces like Morobe.

Galip nuts are eaten raw or used in some dishes, and even the dried nuts are used in bride price ceremonies in some cultures. Okari nut is a dominant tree nut species planted in and around many villages on the Managalas Plateau in Oro Province, but it is mostly eaten raw. Karuka is usually collected from the wild and is a delicacy in the highlands provinces and some coastal provinces of the country, where the fruits containing the nuts are cooked in earthen ovens (mumu pits) or over open fires and then the nuts are air-dried before they are consumed. The Tahitian Chestnut is mostly consumed by roasting of the nut over open fires before cracking open the nuts to extract the kernels, but the kernels can also be extracted from the nuts for air-drying before they are boiled for consumption.

In terms of genetic improvement and breeding, utmost concentration must be accorded in regard to these aspects in the initial stages of development. With galip nut, concerns have been raised in regards to poor quality and inconsistent supply of nuts by farmers, which are matters of genetics and breeding. You can have the most fertile soil to grow your tree nuts, but if genetic aspects of the tree species and its breeding systems are not properly understood, the quantity and quality of nuts produced will be adversely affected. Trees are perennial crops, and they produce fruits and nuts after many years of growth, so methodologies for obtaining cultivars that flower and fruit early must be developed prior to planting and management of the tree nut species.

Management of pest and diseases in tree nuts can be managed through the use of chemical sprays and other management practices as temporary measures. However, for the long term sustainability of the tree nut industry in the country, genetic improvement and breeding systems must be devised and implemented as development of the industry progresses.

Cultivation of tree nuts in and around villages has been occurring since the Europeans arrived on our shores in the late 1800s and civilized our ancestors through Christianity. However, the potential for these trees and their nuts for human consumption on a larger scale has never been explored until recently.

While the government and some private entities are promoting fruit picking and seasonal work in Australia, here lies a sleeping giant that the country can utilize to grow its economy and free its rural populations from the shackles of poverty. This includes the fruit industry, which also has the potential to grow the country’s economy and improve the lives of rural communities.

Development of the tree nut industry PNG is more relevant than ever before due to the issues of chronic unemployment, food security and poverty alleviation. Therefore, if the tree nut industry is to take off in this country, a holistic approach must be embraced in order for the industry to prosper. Agencies, both government and private, involved in the tree nut industry must collaborate in most aspects of industry so that issues such as planting and management, genetic improvement and breeding, pre- and post-harvesting, processing and manufacturing, logistics and marketing of products of the tree nut species are holistically addressed. There should be no room for piece-meal approach, which has been the norm since cocoa and coffee became major industries in this country in the 1900s.

There are 11.8 million people in Papua New Guinea (Wikipedia, 2025) right now, with people within the employment age of 15 – 64 years numbering about 7 million (ibid.). Unfortunately, employment in the formal sector is available for 36% of the 7 million people. Therefore, the tree nut industry is one of the most important avenues that can create formal and informal employments in both rural and urban settings to address chronic unemployment and poverty in this country.