Nigeria Generates In N14bn From Cashew Export

Nigeria earned about N14bn from the export of cashew in the last one year and is in the process of doubling the annual production of the commodity to one million metric tonnes per annum, the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) stated on Sunday.

Speaking to journalists about the forthcoming African Cashew Alliance conference slated to hold in Abuja this month, the President, NCAN, Ojo Ajanaku, said the country’s cashew production would rise to 400,000MT in the harvesting season.

He said, “We produce between 350,000 to 360,000MT of cashew annually. With the cooperation of the ministries, departments and agencies of government in the past two years, we believe that we will meet between 400,000 to 420,000MT in the coming harvest.

“However, our target is to grow it to a million metric tonnes in four to five years and we are on the right path to achieving this as a nation.”

On the export of the commodity, Ajanaku said the country was exporting more raw cashew than the processed one, adding that the product was attracting revenue to Nigerian farmers.

He said, “Nigeria is currently doing more of the export of the raw cashew nuts, because we don’t process more of it. Generally, it is a problem in Africa, not only in Nigeria. However, it has been giving us a lot of income when you talk about foreign earnings.

“It is second to sesame seed in terms of foreign exchange generation from agro-exports. I may not be able to give you the accurate figure in terms of foreign exchange, but in naira what we got from the export of cashew in the last one year was about N14bn.”

Speaking about the conference, he said the event was going to be held in Nigeria for the first time, as it would be the 16th edition.

“The Federal Government is hosting it in Abuja this month and we hope the conference will attract international investors,” Ajanaku stated.

He said the Federal Government was “contributing immensely to see that the cashew sector is growing. However, we are asking for more because we have the potential to produce more than what we are producing currently.”

On his part, the Managing Director, African Cashew Alliance, Ernest Mintah, said the ACA had been in existence since 2006, as the body was existing in the 14 different countries that produce cashew in Africa.