Mauna Loa opening
a Japan office

The move is part of a broader push
into sales of macadamia nuts
throughout Asia

By Jerry Tune
Star-Bulletin

The Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp. has stepped up its ambitious international expansion by opening an office in Tokyo after 10 years of doing business in Japan.

The three-person office, opened late last month, is the company's first in Asia and signals even closer ties to the region by the company and its parent, C. Brewer & Co.

Companies that open offices in Asia gain prestige making it easier to do business, said J.W.A. "Doc" Buyers, C. Brewer's chairman and chief executive. The office will take orders for shipments and coordinate buys.

Buyers also visited China earlier this month and met with officials of the China International Trust and Investment Corp., which has a joint venture to distribute and market macadamia nuts in China.

When it signed the deal late last year, C. Brewer had expectations of about $1 million in revenue the first year and later growing to $10 million to $20 million annually. So far, Buyers said, he is happy with the sales.

"We're doing separate packaging for China and someday we might even build a plant there. But we have to build the business first," he said.

There are economic advantages to building a plant in China, Buyers said, because the country has "most favored nation" trade status with other Asian countries and exports as a Chinese product avoid duty.

The macadamia nut business in Japan grew from $1 million a year to $15 million a year in the last 10 years, Buyers said. "We will do that in China in five years."

Buyers, who spent three days in Shanghai and five days in Beijing, noted that the Japan economy had growth rates of 5 percent and 6 percent in its heyday, but China had 10 percent growth in the last three or four years.

Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp. is the world's largest grower, processor and marketer of macadamia nuts. The company typically does $90 million to $100 million a year, Buyers said. This is normally split about equally between the mainland, Hawaii, and the international division which covers Asia, the Pacific, and Europe.

The company went into Europe last year, appearing at a large confection show in Cologne, Germany. The company then set up a representative office in Amsterdam, Holland.

"The Europe market is a little more difficult because it is a lot of little markets," said Gregory Au, president of Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp.'s international division.

Meanwhile, Chinese sales are moving as expected, he said. The company first started in Shanghai and Beijing, and will go into the Canton area next. If the company gets into all three areas, the business could increase to $50 million a year, he said.

With a big boost in business, the company would start by opening a packaging plant and then move later to a processing plant that handles the raw nuts, he said.

The company sells macadamia nut products, including chocolates, to Chinese who have more money to spend on consumer products. The initial sales were in Duty Free stores, upper-end department stores and supermarkets.

Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corp. has several trading partners in Asia, including arrangements in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. The company also sends shipments to Australia and New Zealand.