In Africa two million farmers grow about 56% of the world’s cashew.
Benin
Burkina Faso
Côte d'Ivoire
Ghana
Mozambique
Sierra Leone
A careful analysis of the harvesting calendar regarding the selected countries has shown a potential for an almost year round cashew supply: with the exception of August and September, raw cashew nuts (RCN) are available anytime of the year in at least one of the selected countries. It is the long-term vision of the project that strategic purchasing between African countries would make it possible for all stakeholders of the cashew value chain to equally benefit from development. Strategic purchasing reduces working capital and optimizes capacity utilization for RCN processing.
Processors could buy small quantities for processing for four to five months annually and import the rest from other African countries in the counter season. Farmers could thus have income in the so-called "hungry season", when food crops cannot be harvested.
The Cashew Sector in Benin
The cashew sector has enormous social, ecological and economic potential for Benin. Since its introduction in the 1990s, cashew has become the second largest agricultural export product after cotton in Benin. Between 1997 and 2001, Benin experienced an annual growth rate of cashew exports by 33% in value and 40% in volume. Currently, cashew is grown in six of the twelve districts of the country (Zou-Collines Donga Atacora, Borgou, Alibori, Ouémé-Plateau and Mono-Couffo) and engages over 200,000 farmers. The area under cultivation has increased from about 200,000 to 400,000 hectares, with more than 60% being ten year old plantations.
Today, cashew nuts from Benin are considered among the highest quality in West Africa, contributing to 8% of national export earnings and 25% of agricultural export earnings. The Beninese government in 2015 has developed a strategic plan to revive the agricultural sector. As part of this strategic plan, the government wants to create favourable conditions to increase production to 120,000 metric tonnes (MT) to increase the capacity of processing units and to contribute to building the capacity of stakeholders in the cashew value chain. These would help increase the competitiveness of the products on the local and international market.
The Cashew Sector in Burkina Faso
The Government of Burkina Faso in 1997 started a project with the aim of planting one million cashew trees to promote the agricultural sector. This resulted in a production increase since 2000. Currently, the area under cultivation is about 330,000 hectares with total production volumes standing at about 100,000 MT. Most of the cashew farmers are not yet represented at the national level but belong to village associations, groups, unions or cooperatives with different degrees of activities. About 45,000 households in Burkina Faso are involved in the cultivation of cashew nuts. 97% are located in the Cascades, Sud-Ouest, Hauts-Bassins and Centre-Ouest regions. Agrofood businesses in the past years, have established large cashew plantations (of up to 300 hectares) with most of them being in the Ziro and Sissili provinces. The raw cashew nuts are mostly exported to India and Vietnam.
The Cashew Sector in Côte d’Ivoire
For Côte d’Ivoire the cashew sector offers enormous social, ecological and economic potential. Raw Cashew Nut (RCN) production increases by around 10% per year. With an annual production volume of more than 750,000 metric tons (MT) in 2018, Côte d’Ivoire is by far the largest African cashew producer and the largest worldwide. Cashew in Côte d’Ivoire is grown by around 330,000 farmers, grouped into 20 cooperatives. The sector feeds an estimated 1.5 million people, directly and indirectly. Cashews are mainly cultivated in the Savannah region, found in the northern part of the country and covers the northern half from the border with Guinea to the border with Ghana. Cashew, in Côte d’Ivoire, was introduced to control soil erosion and for reforestation of savannah woodlands. Today, around 90% of the Ivorian cashew production is exported as Raw Cashew Nuts (RCN) providing the country with considerable export revenue. In that way cashew is not only an essential source of income for farmers, but also constitutes an essential source of tax revenues for the Ivorian state, who is taxing cashew export and re-investing these resources in the cashew sector.
Despite the remarkable growth in cashew production and export earnings, the enormous potential for local value addition through RCN processing remains mostly untapped. However, the Ivorian processing industry is growing with a lot of factories under construction.
The Cashew Sector in Ghana
Agriculture is the predominant sector in Ghana’s economy. It contributes to 22% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs about 45% of the labour force. The cashew sub-sector has gained momentum as recognition from the State is gradually increasing. Cashew is a major source of income for thousands of small-holder farmers and supports farmers’ livelihoods especially during the lean season. Although cashew grows in seven out of the ten regions of Ghana, it is mostly found in the Brong Ahafo and the Northern Regions. Currently productivity rate stands at about 600-700 kg per hectare.
One factor which may be contributing to the high yields in Ghana is the source and quality of planting materials. Farmers have reported using planting materials from government and research institutions which are mostly improved varieties. There are a number of processing plants mainly based in the Brong Ahafo Region. However, these factories are often confronted with challenges in acquiring constant supply of raw cashew nuts. Ghana therefore has to intensify efforts to boost production and to support the activities of processing plants to increase their competiveness in the international market.
The Cashew Sector in Mozambique
In Mozambique, the agricultural sector is an important sector of the economy. It employs about 84% of the workforce and contributes to 28% of gross domestic product (GDP), 3% of which is generated by the cashew sector. About 42% of farmers in Mozambique have cashew plants, although one farmer has only ten to twenty trees on average. The largest cashew producing area is the Nampula province. However, the majority of cashew trees are over 30 years old. The national harvest therefore depends on the effectiveness of spraying campaigns.
The Cashew Sector in Sierra Leone
Cashew is an emerging cash crop with the potential to make a significant economic impact in Sierra Leone, both at household level and as an export commodity, given its expanding market and constantly increasing value and demand. With a low requirement of inputs, cashew is an ideal crop for smallholders and also a good tree crop for soil conservation and climate change mitigation.
Sierra Leone has a high potential for cashew crop comparable to Guinea Bissau. Cashew is considered as one of the upcoming tree crops in Sierra Leone and the government has declared cashew nut as economic cash crop in the country to diversify the export base of the economy. The first activities are in relation to the identification of elite mother trees and establishment of polyclonal gardens. Existing plantations are spread among nine districts: Kambia, Bombali, Port Loko, Koinadugu, Tonkolili, Bo, Kenema, Pujehun, and Kono. More than 50% of the crop is grown in the northern regions followed by the eastern regions.
A WORLD VIEW
The cashew is native to northeastern Brazil. In the mid-to-late 1500s, Portuguese traders and explorers introduced the cashew tree
to India and to the east coast of Africa in an area that is now Mozambique. In Africa, the tree was spread along the east coast (today,
Kenya and Tanzania) and was later introduced to the continent’s west coast, where it presently grows from Senegal to Nigeria. Portuguese
and Spanish traders also introduced the cashew tree to Southeast Asia. The cashew tree now grows in tropical climates of about thirty
countries across the globe within a band approximately 25-30 degrees north and south latitude of the equator. India is the largest
single producer of cashew nuts while West Africa--principally Ivory Coast, Benin, and Guinea-Bissau—is the largest regional producer.
Vietnam, Brazil, and East Africa are the other major sources of production. Indonesia has become a major producer and exporter in
Southeast Asia.
The world map below identifi es countries with estimated annual raw cashew production of one or more million kgs in 2011. Countries
which are identifi ed in bold are major producers and are the most important exporters of either raw cashews and/or processed cashew
kernels. The cashew kernel trade and the raw cashew trade are highlighted, showing the major kernel export destinations from India,
Vietnam, and Brazil and the sources of Indian and Vietnamese raw cashew imports.
INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE
The international cashew market never suffers from a lack of uncertainty. The last eighteen months witnessed a “tightening” of the market
in all its many aspects, from supply to pricing, from collection to procurement to fi nancing to processing to shipping to inspection…
throughout the chain, from tree to table. Not to mention weather-related effects on crops worldwide. As we publish this article, the
industry is dealing with:
• Expanding quality and food safety requirements
• Tightening supplies as Indian domestic consumption rises and 2010-2011 crops from all major origins are below expectations
• Rising demand in China, adding further pressure on world supplies
• Defaults and delays in shipments from India and Vietnam
• Record high prices
In 2010 Middle Eastern markets (including Turkey) remained strong with Indian exports to the region down only slightly to 24.9 million
kgs from 27.6 million kgs in 2009. In the meantime, Vietnamese exports to the region rose from 6.8 to 8.1 million kgs and Brazilian
shipments to the Middle East, though relatively minor, increased from 1.9 to 2.2 million kgs. The Vietnamese cross-border trade with
China grew by one-third between 2009 and 2010, from 32 to 42 million kgs. U.S. demand remained strong with imports increasing
from 117 to 119 million kgs. European Union imports from the three major origins were down less than one million kgs: 71.9 million
kgs in 2009 vs. 71.2 million kgs in 2010.
Thus, even without weather-related crop diffi culties, world demand remains strong and generally exceeds supply. Importantly, at any
given time demand is likely to exceed the availability of raw cashews and kernels, which could mean periodic defi cits and high prices
for particular grades.
QUALITY & FOOD SAFETY FIRST
The emphasis on product quality has accelerated over the past year. In large part, this has been a consequence of growing international
demand for the cashew nut. New and inexperienced entrants have appeared in the Vietnamese and Indian industries. In Vietnam, local
traders gather and export from numerous packing centers. In India, numerous relatively small processors are linked to major processing
operations, but their standards are far below those of the main processors. As a result, more below-standard processing operations
have sprung up in those countries, often resulting in poor and inconsistent quality. Although manufacturers and end-users have quality
and safety at the top of their agenda, there is not a comparable concern among many suppliers/processors at origin.
For U.S. cashew importers and end-users, food safety is a top priority. The Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law
in January 2011, established a much stronger system of food safety oversight by the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and
gives the FDA mandatory recall authority for all food products. Importers must implement a “Foreign Supplier Verifi cation Program,”
verifying that imported food has not been adulterated or misbranded and is safe. Importantly, the FDA needs only a “reason to believe”
that imported food has been adulterated or misbranded in order to halt shipments and detain such food. Foods imported into the
U.S. must be accompanied by certifi cations or other assurances that they meet food safety standards. Testing must be performed by
a Federal laboratory or an accredited non-Federal laboratory with test results being sent directly to the FDA. The FDA can suspend the
operations of any facility if it determines any food manufactured, processed, packed, or held in that facility could reasonably cause
adverse health consequences. The FDA is also required to establish a product tracing system to improve its ability to effectively and
rapidly track and trace food imports.
Independently of the Federal mandate, an internet-based technology system. SourceAgent features electronic traceability, lot-specifi c
documentation management, and supplier profi le management. A SourceAgent user can trace and document product movement from
origin to fi nal destination; access microbiological analyses, certifi cates of analyses and quality, etc.; and house supplier documents,
such as HACCP and BRC certifi cations. In short, SourceAgent allows a user to know a supplier’s profi le and to track a product’s transit
as it makes its way from origin to manufacturer.
We specialize in providing supreme quality raw cashews to our valued customers. This cashew is grown under favorable conditions using natural manure under the guidance of experienced farmers.
We export, import, supply and market raw cashews.
Please contact us early if you are interested.