Bayo Akomolafe 
Cashew shipment worth N700 billion from Nigerian Ports to Vietnam is being threatened by Cambodia as harvest period commences from February.
Over 80 per cent of Nigerian cashew nuts output is shipped to Vietnam annually, but findings revealed that the global cashew market size was valued at $7.78 billion in 2024 and has been projected to reach $8.14 billion in 2025, growing at an average rate of 4.6 per cent per year.
Nigerian exporters have anticipated to earn N4.2 trillion ($2.64 billion) from cashew nut export from its major buyers, Vietnam and India, in 2025, as price increased by 80.1 per cent in the global market.
However, it was gathered from Vietnam’s General Department of Customs that Cambodia, which exported about 760,000 tonnes of cashew nuts and earned $971 million in 2024, had increased production by 39 per cent, leading to 54 per cent increase above the Nigeria’s 350,000 tonnes, whose major exports to Vietnam is 80 per cent.
Also, findings indicated that Nigerian farmers had started selling its nuts at N2 million per tonnes to exporters as production in this year’s harvest period is projected to increase by five per cent due to favourable weather conditions.
According to the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), the increase in output is linked to the quality fruiting of cashew trees observed across major producing states in the country as mild harmattan season helped flowers to bud and blossom well.
The National President of the association, Ojo Ajanaku, said in Lagos that the condition of weather had been favourable across the key producing states.
He noted: “We believe that production will be higher this year than in 2024 by at least five percent. The quality of the nuts will also be good owing to the mild harmattan that will help to reduce the level of heat during storage.”
Cashew has emerged as a nut for which medicinally prospective ingredients are the centre of increasing consumer interest over its bioactive.
Recall that price of the nut rose from $1,300 to $6,560 per tonnes within one year, leading to 80.1 per cent price increase in 2024. Also, prices for Indian cashews which was $7,990/tonne Freight
80.1 per cent Being the percentage increase in price at the global market.
on Board (FoB) at the beginning of the month, have already risen to $8,015/tonne FoB.
Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS) explained that there were many reasons for the latest price increases, saying that the decline in Vietnamese imports of raw cashew nuts by 10 per cent was the major contribution.
Last year, VINACAS compalined that the shortage of supply was partly due to poorer crops in some West African growing countries, adding that strong competition was also driving up prices.
Also, it stressed that to make matters worse, exchange rate fluctuations and unfavourable weather conditions had driven up production costs considerably and made them difficult to predict.
However, in a move to boost Africa’s cashew production, the African Cashew Alliance (ACA) has partnered with Cambodia on cashew growth and development across the continent.
Also, the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) said that the country was making moves to increase production to 1 million tonnes in the coming years.
Ajanaku explained that NCAN was building a national cashew policy to increase production, saying that currently the youth and women had been trained in the value chain as well.
He explained: “We have a projection and that is why we are building cashew nurseries, our target is to hit 1 million tonnes annually and we are looking at spreading Ogbomosho Variety in Oyo State across because it is widely accepted.
“Also in Kwara because it is high yield and we want to spread it round the country so in one hectare of land, you can harvest as high as 800-1,000 kilogrammes.
“We are to use the arable land and plant cashew, and by the time we produce cashew to 2 million metric tonnes which we can do in the country we would have generated enough foreign exchange for the country.
This is our projection and if we are able to hit it we are making another 500kg, we will make it 1,500kg, and in no time we will be able to get to two million metric tonnes which is our full target.”
