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  • Mozambique | The cashew stalemate conundrum 11/28/2022

    Nov 28th, 2022

    Among the sectors of the Mozambican economy, this is one which still resists domestic and international vicissitudes. Cashew nuts have enormous potential for generating a value chain; in terms of production alone, it employs 1,400,000 families, and, in the 2021-2022 marketing year, generated gross income of US$87 million. The cashew subsector was strong and recognized as paramount in Mozambique in the 1960s and early 1970s, when it reached a peak of 700,000 tons, competing with international giants such as India. The civil war aged the country’s cashew plantings significantly and, in the early 2000s, reforms began that culminated in the creation of the National Cashew Institute, which is responsible for revitalising the subsector through the production of seedlings and research of clones with higher productivity levels. The return of Mozambican cashew to the lofty place it once commanded is problematic. In the 2021-2022 marketing year, 146,000 tons were sold to domestic industries and to export at a minimum reference price per kilogram of 39 meticais. In the 2022-2023 campaign, it is expected that the quantity will increase to 150,000 tons, but at a lower price of 37 meticais per kilogram. The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Olegário dos Anjos Banze, is an optimistic man. Around 150,000 tonnes of cashew nuts are projected to be sold, which could represent a growth of 3% in production. This volume will again generate gross income of US$87 million, the same as the last campaign, precisely because of the reduction in the reference price. The Cashew Industry Association (AICAJU) does not identify itself with the current model, which assigns to the government the leading role in setting prices. “AICAJU reinforces its position already expressed previously, and once again appeals to the need to let the market work, since this is what will dictate the real reference price,” reaffirms the association’s Julina Harculette. In 2021, Harculette says, the Mozambican cashew industry processed around 32,663 tons of cashew nuts last year, when the reported total production was 146,000 tons, an increase of 6.52% against the previous year. In 2020, 30,664 tons of cashew were processed in Mozambican cashew industries .


    Source: https://clubofmozambique.com/
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