Africa cashew farmers not reaping benefits

Africa cashew farmers not reaping benefits

ABIDJAN: The three million African farmers who supply most of the world's cashew nuts aren't cashing in on the booming demand due to a lack of processing facilities, a UN body said on Friday. World production and trade in raw cashew nuts have more than doubled since 2000 with African producers, led by Ivory Coast, accounting for almost two-thirds of the growth.

But the continent's farmers and exporters get only a fraction of the final retail price, according to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). "Countries that grow cashews but don't process them at a significant scale retain only a small share of the value created as the nut travels from the farm to store,“ said Miho Shirotori, who leads UNCTAD's work on trade negotiations and commercial diplomacy. "African farmers, exporters and workers are missing out on a wealth of opportunities,“ she added.

Cashews thrive in the tropical climates of 20 western and eastern African nations, where about 90 percent of the raw cashew nuts traded in the global market are grown. Behind Ivory Coast the main producers are Tanzania, Nigeria, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Ghana, according to UNCTAD.

But less than 15 percent of the