A USAID report on West Africa's cashew industry shows it has assumed a new status as a major supplier of raw cashews, accounting for almost a third of the world’s cashew output. The report also noted that the global trade of cashew nuts could do with increased tonnage from Africa.
Ghana’s exported raw nuts reached 47,000 metric tonnes in 2006. This figure is considered very small when compared with world excess demand of 430,000 metric tonnes of raw nuts. Less than 50% of Ghana’s export is derived from domestic sources, with cross border trading accounting for a large chunk of the exports. Processing locally would increase cashew revenue by 50%.
Investment opportunities
The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is inviting investors to expand the industry through the following opportunities:
Processing
Establishment of a new cashew processing plant to serve local and international market is needed. The products obtained from cashew nuts include cashew kernels of different flavours, cashew butter and cashew nut shell liquid for industrial use. Processing in Ghana is a recent development undertaken by unskilled personnel with inadequate capacity to handle large volumes required for the export market. Local demand for cashew kernels is currently estimated at over 40 metric tonnes per annum, but only about 33 metric tonnes is processed locally.
Establishment of plantations
About 3.24 million hectares of suitable land is available to investors interested in growing cashew nuts for local and international markets. An estimated 60,000 hectares of
land is currently under cultivation with annual production of about 22,000 metric tonnes of raw cashew nuts.
For further information on investing in the cashew nut industry contact the GIPC.
Key contact: Stephen Debre
Senior Investment Officer
Agric & Agribusiness
Email: sdebre@gipcghana.com
