<p>Mozambique expects to harvest 149,000 tons of cashews in the next harvest, earning about US$130 million for the state. In the last campaign, national production of cashew nuts, led by the province of Nampula, followed by Cabo Delgado, Zambézia, Inhambane and Gaza, was in the order of 139,000 tons and earned an estimated at US$100 million.The director of the Institute for Cashew Development (INCAJU), Ilídio Bande, struck a positive note regarding the current state of the cashew industry on the margins of a business meeting held in Maputo on Thursday and organized by the institution in partnership with USAID’s “SPEED” programme.</p> <p>“We have commissioned an economic study to serve as a basis for the review of both the law regarding the issue of export surcharge and the revision of the marketing regulation, among others, because all these recommendations are more than 20 years old and are dis-adjusted to the socio-economic reality of the country,” Bande said. however states categorically that the current situation of the cashew industry is good, even among the best on the continent, with about 14 medium to large factories that processing around 50,000 tons a year and employing about 15,000 workers.Although hopeful of a healthy and progressive growth for the next few years, Bande said that the subsector had the agronomic challenges in the incidence of pests, and diseases whose combat and treatment was costly.</p> <p>Regarding such challenges, there was a need to ensure that producers were well organized and could access the best technical assistance, to discuss better prices with traders, and increase production.“We believe new plantations could increase production and we urge the private sector to engage in the cashew business through planting and setting up new industrial units,” Bande said, noting that the country currently has about 20 million productive trees and employs about 1.4 million families.Bande, quoted by AIM, says the country has great potential and can still do much more, although it has already done a lot. In the 1970s, Mozambique produced 200,000 tons annually and was among the best in the world, but currently occupies the fifth position as a cashew producer worldwide.</p> <p>India is an important market, but Vietnam is a new importer which cannot meet demand. Mozambican cashews also go to the United States and Europe. Asia, including China, has begun to import Mozambican cashews, and Russia is a new customer also.</p>