The Progressive Cashew Buyers Association of Ghana has commended the government of Ghana for pegging a kilo of cashew at GHC5. The new price will be used as a base price for cashew in the 2022 crop season.
Alhaji Siaka Barus, the National Organiser of the Association, indicated that government’s intervention in the industry to set up the base price has brought sanity into the cashew sector.
The National Organizer explained that the base price is in the right direction, noting “it is a win-win situation.”
Alhaji Barus who doubles as the Chief Executive Officer of the AS Barus Company Limited, a Sampa-based cashew buying company, entreated the cashew farmers to use quality or the COCOBOD sack to store their produce. He also called on the farmers to dry their nuts well to reduce their moisture content in order to fetch them a good price.
The Chief Executive Officer noted that the cashew industry has the potential to be one of the biggest foreign exchange earners for the country if the government invests heavily in it.
“The cashew industry has huge economic potential that could widen the nation’s foreign exchange earnings. Therefore, I call on the government to invest in the sector.”
Alhaji Barus
Global Demand Remains High
Alhaji Barus added that the global demand for cashew remains higher, hence the need for the government to support farmers to expand their farms and to improve yields. He further charged the government to motivate the unemployed youth to engage in commercial production of cashew.
“This would greatly help the nation to increase its annual cashew production, create jobs and enhance government’s revenue as well.”
Alhaji Barus
On his part, the President of the Cashew Traders and Exporters Association of Ghana (CTEAG), Alex Owusu Adjei, expressed satisfaction about the new minimum price of raw cashew nuts, adding, “It is a process and will improve as time passes”.
Mr. Owusu Adjei also reiterated the call for cashew farmers to dry their cashew nuts to achieve 10% or below moisture content before selling it to buyers.
Mr Owusu Adjei further challenged raw cashew nut merchants not to show interest in cashew nuts that are not correctly dried to ensure international standards for the commodity.
Minimum Cashew Price
The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Yaw Frimpong Addo, recently announced GH¢5 as the minimum producer price for raw cashew nuts (RCN). He called on players along the cashew value chain to respect the pricing regime.
The Deputy Minister explained that “if we say minimum price, it is a price that nobody can buy this product below but above, you can negotiate”.
Mr Frimpong Addo disclosed that the minimum producer price for the commodity in Ghana comes after several sections of direct consultation with major actors within the agriculture subsector.
“The emphasis here is direct consultations with all relevant actors and stakeholders within the cashew value chain, so it is not an imposition of price from anywhere. It by consensus that this price is coming.”
Mr Frimpong Addo
The cashew sector is increasingly becoming one of the most important agricultural sectors in Ghana. The sector has grown into one that contributes significantly to economic growth, particularly in job creation and poverty reduction.
The African Cashew Alliance (ACA) estimates that over 800, 000 people are directly and indirectly employed across the cashew supply chain, including: farmers, factory workers, buyers, and exporters of the commodity in Ghana.
