ABUJA: According to Pastor Tola Faseru, President of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) Nigeria cashew exports are worth $250 million (about N49.7 billion) yearly, with the average export price increasing annually due to growing demand.
The President, NCAN said Vietnam and India remained Nigeria’s largest buyers, adding that globally, stocks of nuts, including cashew, in North America and Europe had been low, while global demand had increased. “This offers good prospects for the Nigeria’s cashew industry this year,” he said.
According to him, the industry is expected to earn $250 million from the export of 180,000 tonnes of cashew nut. He disclosed that the global demand for the nut has been forecast to increase and urged exporters to pay more attention to improve product quality, ensure hygiene and food safety to enable exports.
He affirmed that the cashew industry has developed in recent years and focused on improving technologies, while the industry wants to increase cashew cultivation area, nationwide and produce 500,000 tonnes by 2020.
He also said that the association was working in partnership with farmers and the government to develop cashew growing areas and giving technical assistance to farmers to help them increase profits.
The Association, he said decided to hold a meeting with operators across the port value chain in order to reduce the transit time for cashew exports, and improve Nigeria’s position as a major cashew exporter.
