Cashew nuts are one of the most important cash crops in Africa, with West and East African countries playing a major role in their production and export to global markets.

The cashew nut industry in Africa has seen remarkable growth over the past decade, driven by rising global demand for healthy nuts, expanding investments in agricultural value chains, and government initiatives and agricultural development support programs.

In the following lines, “Zoom Africa News” monitors the analysis of the cashew market in Africa in terms of production, consumption, foreign trade and price trends, with a focus on the most prominent producing countries, in addition to providing estimates of market size and growth expectations during the coming years, according to the latest economic reports.

Cashew nut market in Africa

It is estimated that the cashew nut market in Africa will experience steady growth over the coming years, with the market size reaching approximately $822.49 million in 2024, and is expected to reach approximately $984.91 million by 2029, at a compound annual growth rate of 3.67%.

These figures reflect the expanding demand for cashew nuts in regional and global markets, along with increased investments in crop processing and improvements to agricultural supply chains.

Countries such as Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Benin, Tanzania and Burundi are at the forefront of cashew cultivation in Africa. Several international and regional initiatives have contributed to the development of the cashew sector, most notably the Cashew Competitiveness Initiative, which supported the development of production and processing in Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Mozambique, to improve production efficiency and promote the use of technology in agricultural value chains.

Developing cashew processing plants is one of the most important factors that promotes added value within Africa instead of just exporting raw cashews.

Cashew nut production volume in Africa

Ivory Coast is the top cashew nut producer in Africa, followed by Tanzania, Benin, and Nigeria.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), cashew nut production in Côte d'Ivoire rose to 837,850 tons in 2021, following an expansion in agricultural areas and strong government support for the cashew nut sector.

In 2022, the government allocated more than $20 million to support local cashew processing companies and help them cope with Asian competition, in addition to receiving support from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for projects to develop cashew processing centers in several cities within Côte d'Ivoire.

Cashew nut industry initiatives in Africa

In addition to the above, the cashew nut sector in Africa has witnessed several development initiatives and projects in recent years, including the Dutch Trust Fund project.

Also, in November 2022, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the International Trade Centre, launched the fifth phase of the Dutch Trust Fund in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.

In May 2022, the Tanzanian government launched a program to provide free agricultural inputs to cashew nut farmers with the aim of increasing productivity and boosting exports.

In February 2022, the Prosper Cashew project, supported by the US Department of Agriculture, was launched, aiming to promote investment in the cashew sector, in a project that includes the countries of Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria.

Challenges of the cashew industry

The cashew nut industry and farming in Africa face challenges including weak local processing capacity in some countries, strong competition from Asian markets, global price volatility, and limited agricultural infrastructure in some areas.

The challenges also include the fact that a large portion of cashew nuts are exported from African countries as raw materials to Asia, where they are processed and then re-exported to global markets.