The Ghana Export Promotion Agency (GEPA) has advised the Government to intensify cashew export to some selected countries as these countries have the market prospects that Ghana needs. intensify cashew export

According to a report by GEPA, although Ghana is doing well with the exportation of cashew in shell, there is still more room for growth.

About 99.7 percent of all Ghana’s cashew nuts in shells are exported to Vietnam and India. Ghana was the third-largest supplier to Vietnam in 2020 after Cote d’Ivoire and Cambodia. Similarly, Ghana was the third-largest supplier to India in 2020 after Tanzania and Benin.

According to the report, untapped potential estimates for exporting cashew to countries such as Vietnam, India, China, and other countries allow Ghana to undertake supply base expansion programmes to meet the global demand for cashew.

Cashew export potential in Ghana

With an estimated untapped potential of over US$660 million for Ghana’s cashew in shell, Ghana exported about US$340.7m of raw cashew in shell to 7 countries across the globe in 2020. Of these seven countries, Vietnam was the main destination leading Ghanaian exports of cashew nuts in shell, representing about fifty-Eight percent, constituting more than half of all cashews in shell exported to the world in 2020.

The Vietnamese market showed a significant increase in 17% of Ghanaian cashew value from 2016 to 2020. In 2020, India was the second-largest export destination for cashew nuts in shells from Ghana, comprising about forty percent, with China being the third importer, with an estimated import value of US$295k.

According to the report, import tariffs for Ghana to India and Sri Lanka are 30 percent and 20 percent for China, while the other export destinations have 0% except for Vietnam, which has a 5 percent import tariff. Exporting destinations such as Saudi Arabia, China, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) show insignificant values.

Hence GEPA has advised that the government increase Ghana’s market penetration strategies to export to markets in China, Saudi Arabia, and U.A.E. Given Ghana’s supply capacity, vis-à-vis the demand in Vietnam and India and other variables put Ghana’s unexploited benefits in these markets at US$406m and US$242m respectively.

“New and attractive markets for Ghana include China, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. Estimating the untapped potential for countries such as Vietnam, India, China, and other countries provide Ghana the opportunity to undertake supply base expansion programmes to meet the global demand for cashew.”
GEPA

GEPA’s advice aligns with the mandate of the Tree Crop Development Authority to make 2 billion from cashew, one of the six selected tree crops in Ghana after 8 years.