<p>Mozambique is expected to produce 140,000 tonnes of cashew nuts in the 2018/2019 year, said the head of the Technology Development division of the Nampula delegation of the National Cashew Institute (Incaju), Halahala Abdurremane. </p><p>He also said that the delegation is currently involved in the recovery of cashew groves, through production of seedlings with desirable characteristics and distribution of these new characteristics to producers in different locations across the province.</p> <p>Nampula province is a major cashew nut producer, contributing 50 to 60% to total national production, with Mozambican newspaper O PaÃs citing official figures to say that sales of the product in the province total close to 70,000 tonnes. <br></p> <p>Mozambique was one of the world’s largest producers of cashew nuts until the 1970s, with historical yields of close to 200,000 tonnes, with the northern part of the country playing an important role even at that time.</p> Following the country’s independence the sector suffered a significant crisis with nationalisation leading to the closure of many processing plants, cashews becoming an increasingly scarce raw material due to the aging of cashew groves, as well as diseases and pests attacking the trees. All these factors led to Mozambique falling off the international cashew map for a number of years. <br><p></p>