Nigeria’s cashew industry has the potential to generate enough revenue to sustain the country’s entire population of over 200 million people without reliance on exports, according to the President of the National Apex of Cashew Farmers, Processors and Marketing Cooperative Limited, Yunusa Enemali.
Speaking on a television programme, Enemali lamented the underutilisation of Nigeria’s cashew sector, noting that less than 10 per cent of the annual harvest is processed locally, while the bulk of raw nuts are exported to Vietnam and India.
He stressed that cashew has more than 40 by-products, with cashew nut shell liquid being the most expensive, valued between $70 and $90 per litre. He also highlighted that carbon credits from cashew farming range between $150 and $500, an opportunity Nigeria has yet to fully explore.
According to Enemali, the Federal Government’s new cashew industry roadmap seeks to position Nigeria as a processing hub capable of injecting $3.7 billion into the economy.
Currently, the Cashew Processors and Packagers Association represents over 20 factories with the capacity to process 374 tonnes of kernels daily. Despite this, processors face a shortage of raw materials, as most cashew nuts are exported untreated.
