Stakeholders in Nigeria’s cashew industry have raised concerns over significant revenue leakages arising from the failure of some foreign buyers to properly declare export proceeds, a practice they say undermines accurate data collection and deprives the country of much-needed foreign exchange.
The National President of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Dr Ojo Joseph Ajanaku, raised the alarm on Thursday in Abuja at the 4th Cashew Day celebration. He disclosed that some foreign operators export Nigerian cashew without completing the mandatory Nigeria Export Proceeds (NXP) form, making it difficult for authorities to track exports, repatriate proceeds and generate reliable production statistics.
According to Ajanaku, the lack of a robust and transparent statistical framework has continued to distort official figures on Nigeria’s cashew output and export volumes.
He noted that while earlier estimates placed Nigeria’s cashew exports at less than 200,000 metric tonnes, sustained interventions by the association—particularly in improving packaging standards and expanding market access—have helped scale exports to nearly 600,000 metric tonnes.
Ajanaku added that although official records currently estimate cashew export earnings at about $400 million annually, actual revenues could be significantly higher if all exports were properly declared and proceeds fully repatriated.
To address the challenge, he said the current administration has introduced a Cashew Farmers’ Mapper initiative aimed at mapping cashew farms nationwide to establish accurate data on production levels, export destinations and exporters.
“This initiative will enable the Bureau of Statistics to have a clearer picture of what we produce and what is exported. We are growing as an industry, but we can do much better,” he said.
On value addition, Ajanaku expressed concern over Nigeria’s low cashew processing capacity and called on the government to prioritise agro-processing through targeted, concessional financing. He advocated the introduction of a Special Agro-Processing Loan (SAPL), similar to the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ), to provide processors with single-digit interest rate loans.
“The funds are available through Central Bank interventions, NEXIM Bank, the Bank of Industry and the Bank of Agriculture. If processors can access loans at below five or even 10 per cent interest, they can compete effectively on the global stage,” he said.
He also highlighted Nigeria’s logistics advantage over Asian competitors, noting that shipping time to the United States is less than one month, compared with more than six weeks from Asia.
Also speaking at the event, President of the African Cashew Alliance (ACA), Ibrahim Sanfou, said Africa remains the world’s largest producer of raw cashew but processes and consumes less than 10 per cent of its output. He noted that between 80 and 90 per cent of Africa’s cashew production is exported in raw form, underscoring the need for strong and consistent government policies to support local processing and domestic consumption.
“Africa is a huge market, comparable to India, but we are not processing enough. Without deliberate government support, this challenge cannot be resolved,” Sanfou said.
He further observed that cashew yields across Africa remain significantly lower than in leading producing countries such as India and Vietnam, averaging between 300 and 800 kilograms per hectare, compared with over 1.5 tonnes per hectare in India. He called for increased investment in technology, research and funding to boost productivity.
In his remarks, the President of the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN), Sherif Balogun, said the conference signalled the official opening of the new cashew trading season and would strengthen coordination and collaboration across the cashew value chain.
