Cashew Nuts Production In Nigeria: Planting, Varient, Processing, Uses And Market Value

Nigeria currently produces 240,000MT of raw cashew nuts annually, with Kogi State as the leading producer.

On a hectre of land, that's the size of a standard football pitch, with a population density of 400 cashew tress planted and irrigated using drip system.

Hybrid cashew varieties attain maturity at 3½ years with a max fruit production of 15kg/tree from the 5th year. With a life span of 30years cashew trees will yield steady Forex inflow for its farmers.

At $6500/MT of processed cashew, it's one of the most lucrative cash crops world wide.

Plantation:

On a hectre= 400 trees

Yield at 5years>  400 trees *15kg nuts per tree = 6000kg or 6MT of raw cashew nuts/hectre

Processing to nuts:

1MT (1000kg) of raw cashew nuts gives 250kg of processed nuts that represents 25% conversion rate.

Uses

Aside from eating cashews as food, there are a number of other uses for these versatile little nuts. For example, cashews can be used to make cashew milk, which is a delicious and healthy alternative to dairy milk. Cashews can also be used to make cashew butter, which is a great source of healthy fats and can be used as a spread or in cooking. Additionally, the cashew apple, the fleshy part of the cashew fruit that surrounds the nut, can be made into jams, jellies, and juices.

Finally, cashews can be used to make a natural dye, and the Cashew oil, also known as cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL), is extracted from the shell of the cashew nut. The oil has a wide range of uses, both in the cosmetic and industrial industries. In the cosmetic industry, cashew oil is often used in products like lip balms, soaps, and moisturizers. It is thought to have anti-inflammatory and skin-healing properties, which makes it a popular ingredient in these products. In the industrial industry, cashew oil is used as a rust inhibitor, as a binder in paints and coatings, and as a lubricant.

Market value 

* for raw cashew nuts is N500,000/tonne.

Market value for processed nuts is $6500/tonnes approximately N10,400,000. By the conversion rate above 4MT of raw cashew are needed to produce 1MT of processed Cashew.

So, in essence the 250kg of processed cashew obtained from the produce of 1hectre will amount to about N2,400,000 annually.

You make more gains through value addition (processing).

Think wise, think Agriculture...