The Cashew Value Chain in Mozambique

Abstract

Mozambique has a low average yield of raw cashew nut (RCN) of 3 kg/tree. The latest census of agriculture in 2015 estimated that 1.33 million households owned cashew trees. Another 30,000 households were involved post-harvest. One-half of RCN production sold was processed in 2015, up from 1/3 in 2008. A large share of cashew exports are raw nuts, mostly “informal” (no tax). In 2017, national production was only two-thirds of 1972, when Mozambique was the world leader in cashew exports. An export tax was imposed on RCN exports in 2001, currently 18 percent of the F.O.B. price, to promote domestic processing. Key challenges for production include replacing aging trees with improved root-stock and stepped-up anti-fungal spraying. Industrial processing now comprises 15 factories employing 17,000 workers, 57 percent of whom are women. Main recommendations are: a multi-stakeholder Platform to periodically review cashew developments; smallholder participation in producer organizations; privatization of seedlings distribution and tree-spraying without subsidies; public and private commercial infrastructure (warehouses, transportation, access roads); accessible international market and technical information; using cashew shells to generate energy; using cashew apple to produce packaged fermented beverages; and a cross-Ministry push on food safety protocols for cashew.