<p>Cashews, those kidney-shaped nuts so welcomed at cocktail parties and in chicken dishes, represent an odd bit of global trade. It’s in many ways a throwback to a time when agricultural products were processed far from their source. Only in this case, the trade connects developing Africa with developing Asia, before being shipped to eager consumers everywhere. <br></p> <p>“Two-thirds of cashews in the world are not processed in the countries where they’re grown,” said David Rosenblatt, president of the Richard Franco Agency, a New Jersey-based food brokerage that specializes in cashews. <br></p> <p>Worldwide production of cashews amounts to about 2.5 million tons annually. Cashews originally hailed from Brazil, but these days, just about half the world’s crop is grown in Africa and that harvest is expanding rapidly. The Ivory Coast is by far Africa’s biggest producer, and its production is increasing at about 10% a year. Guinea Bissau, Benin, Tanzania, Mozambique and Nigeria produce major crops as well. <br></p> <p>While Africa is the dominant producer, it shells and processes only about 10% of its crop, according to the African Cashew Alliance. Globally, almost 90% of all cashews are processed in India and Vietnam. True, both of those countries grow cashews. But they process far, far more and at a much lower cost. And that’s where these trade links come in. <br></p> <p>The Nuts Need to Breathe</p><p>Check ship movements these days and you’ll note both bulk and container carriers steaming from places like Cotonou, Benin or Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to Cochin and Tuticorin, India or Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Their cargo is raw, unshelled cashews. Lot sizes range from 500 tons to 5,000 tons. Traders pay $1,000 to $2,000 a metric ton. <br></p> <p>Even with the collapse of break bulk rates, containerized cargo is cheaper, said Santhosh Sankaranarayanan, who runs Swathy Enterprises, a cashew trader based in Kollam, India. He compared a bulk shipment from Guinea Bissau four months back that priced at $115 per ton. If shipped by container, the cost would have been $80 at most, he said.<br></p>