The federal government said new investments were being planned for the development of six new plants with an estimated capacity of 22,910MT for cashew production in the country as it eyes the export market.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, dropped the hint during a pre-event media briefing on the 16th African Cashew Alliance (ACA) conference which kicked off in Abuja on Monday.
The minister revealed that out of the current production figure, about 180,000 MT are traded as raw cashew nuts, 15000 MT are processed into cashew kernels and about only 10,000MT are exported and this narrative he maintained, must change if the country wants to reap the gains of competing in the global cashew market.
While also observing that presently, the country has 15 active processing plants with estimated capacity of 55,750MT and eight inactive plants with an estimated capacity of 8,500MT, Adebayo disclosed that cashew nuts production is limited to only 10 states of Kogi, Enugu, Niger , Kwara, Imo, Kaduna, Abia, FCT etc.
He said the plants will address shortfalls in the production of the commodity as government targets a rise from the current 260,000MT to about 500,000MT.
This effort, he maintained, is expected to provide over a million direct and indirect jobs in the cashew subsector.
He noted that while 55 per cent of cashew nuts production is from Africa, the continent has not been able to reap the full benefits accruing from the commodity as most of what is produced is exported in its primary form.
Presently, the minister noted, Europe, China, Vietnam, India , Middle East continue to dominate the space in processing of cashew nuts.
He, therefore, charged ACA to continue to advance policies and strategies that will strengthen efforts towards processing a larger portion of the commodity on the continent before being exported.
He said government will continue to support players in the subsector with incentives.
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