<p>From the 13-15 November, the African Cashew Alliance (ACA) represented by the second vice president of the board, Mr. Wayne Tilton, participated in the 9th Vinacas Golden Cashew Rendez-vous held in Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam. With over 400 delegates in attendance and under the theme, “Talk about cashew nuts, think about Viet Nam," the conference had as an objective, to promote trade, and expand markets for cashew products and help cashew growers and processing firms raise their incomes, and develop the cashew sector in a sustainable manner.</p> <p>Over a period of two days, the conference featured a diverse program that provided latest update about cashew demand and supply trends through three impressive panels on CASHEW STRATEGIES, RAW CASHEW NUTS & CASHEW KERNELS.Mr. Wayne Tilton, in his presentation on the topic, “challenges in the African Cashew Industry”, mentioned that: “Africa accounts for 56 per cent of the global raw cashew nut production, but processes less than 5 per cent of the global crop”. He also touched on the issue of global demand and supply, placing a lot of pressure on the African Cashew processors. One key solution to these challenges he said, would be to advocate for regulatory reforms and development of infrastructure (road, energy, warehousing, etc.) by governments in producing countries, through structures such as the Consultative International Cashew Council (CICC). This said, he encouraged regional bodies such as VINACAS to join the CICC.At the end of the conference, the African Cashew Alliance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Vinacas, for mutual support in the development of the African cashew sector.</p>