Ivory Coast cashew nut output rose 14 percent to 560,000 tons in 2014 from the previous year, a government spokesman said on Wednesday, in line with its aim to become the world’s top producer in the coming years.Just a decade ago, Ivory Coast, which is the world's top cocoa grower, was a middling cashew producer, growing around 80,000 tons of raw nuts per year. With output growing by over 10 percent annually, the sector has attracted the attention of a government desperate to jump-start its economy after a decade of war and political chaos. "That places Ivory Coast in second place after India," Bruno Kone told reporters after a cabinet meeting in the commercial capital Abidjan, referring to last year's cashew crop output. Kone said that the quality of Ivorian cashews had improved due to a government reform that set a minimum price for farmers. He said farmers received a total of 127 billion CFA francs ($219 million) for their cashews last season. "The official opening of the 2015 cashew season is tomorrow and the guaranteed minimum price is 275 CFA francs ($0.48) per kilogramme," he said. The price during the previous season was 225 CFA francs/kg. ($1 = 577.4800 CFA francs)