"Regarding the conditions, I can say that the indicators can hope for a good 2018 campaign." It was with this optimistic announcement that the PCA of the Cotton and Cashew Council (CCA) on Thursday, February 15, officially opened the 2018 milking of cashew nuts in Côte d'Ivoire. According to Bamba Mamadou, cashew prices are on an upward trend in the international market. Smile to the lips of the domestic producers. Much better buying prices are available at the beginning of the marketing year. For the field edge, the price of 500 CFA francs below which no purchase of the kilogram is allowed. This price was 440 CFA francs in 2017. Price in the domestic store: 525 CFA francs (against 465 CFA francs last year). Port warehouse: 584 CFA francs (524 CFA francs in 2017). The leaders of the sector project a national production of 750,000 tons, this year. The fight against the illegal export of nuts to neighboring countries will intensify, promises the Director General. Adama Coulibaly wants to be firm: "we will make rigorous arrangements at the land borders. Those caught in the act of fraud will be doubly punished. Their cashews will be sold and they will be removed from the industry. " The Eastern border (with Ghana) remains the real nightmare of the director. A strengthening of the work of the watch committees in this part of the country would be under way. No cashew nuts should be missed in the CCA's final statistics. In 2017, despite the controls, more than 1,000 trucks registered in the regional delegations of the regulatory body managed to circumvent the official circuits with their contents. Retaliation measures were taken against the perpetrators. "None of them received accreditation in 2018 to carry out their activities," said the CCA boss, emphasizing the reliability of cashew traceability documents.