7 °c
London
Monday, April 19, 2021
No Result
View All Result
FurtherAsia FurtherArabia FurtherBrazil FurtherRussia
FurtherAfrica
  • Countries
    • Angola
    • Botswana
    • Cape Verde
    • DRC
    • Eswatini
    • Ethiopia
    • Kenya
    • Malawi
    • Mauritius
    • Mozambique
    • Namibia
    • Nigeria
    • Rwanda
    • South Africa
    • Tanzania
    • Uganda
    • Zambia
    • Zimbabwe
  • OpenTalk
  • Understanding
  • Videos
  • Weekend
  • About
FurtherAfrica
  • Countries
    • Angola
    • Botswana
    • Cape Verde
    • DRC
    • Eswatini
    • Ethiopia
    • Kenya
    • Malawi
    • Mauritius
    • Mozambique
    • Namibia
    • Nigeria
    • Rwanda
    • South Africa
    • Tanzania
    • Uganda
    • Zambia
    • Zimbabwe
  • OpenTalk
  • Understanding
  • Videos
  • Weekend
  • About
No Result
View All Result
FurtherAfrica
No Result
View All Result
Home Africa

‘Cashew into cash’ is Mozambique’s new mantra to boost the economy

FurtherAfrica by FurtherAfrica
April 30, 2018
in Africa, Agriculture, Export, Farming, Food, Mozambique, Natural Resources
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
‘Cashew into cash’ is Mozambique’s new mantra to boost the economy
Share via QRWhatsappShare on FacebookShare on TwitterLinkedInPinteresteMail

The country’s cashew industry, one of the world’s biggest, was dealt a body blow first by the 1977-1992 civil war and then by a controversial WB aid package.

Mozambique is going nuts about cashews, and they’re boosting the economy’s health.

The country’s cashew nut industry, one of the world’s biggest, was dealt a body blow first by the 1977-1992 civil war and then by a controversial World Bank assistance package.

Now, the government is looking to help the curved, nutrient-packed nut to recover its past glory.

In Nampula, in the country’s north, the end of the cashew nut season sees a processing factory burst into activity.

Dozens of workers labour under a scorching hot roof, baked by the sweltering heat as they separate nut from shell with a stamp of the foot.

Condor Nuts, where they work, is one business that has seized on the support offered by the government having opened a plant in a suburb of Nampula in the heart of cashew country 10 years ago.

Condor boss Americo Matos told AFP that he was just getting started.

“At the moment, we process 8,000 tonnes of nuts every year,” he said.

“Our goal is to quickly grow that to 10,000 tonnes a year and then, with our second factory, the company targets an overall capacity of 20,000 tonnes per year.”

In Condor’s warehouses, sacks brimming with nuts are piled several feet high. Hundreds of workers — as many as 1,000 at peak times — are on hand to cut, open and peel the harvest, often by hand.

For working five or six hour days in noisy conditions, the workers are paid 45 euros ($55) a month, barely more than the minimum wage.

“Demand is very strong. We manage to sell everything we produce, the future is bright,” Mr. Matos said.

Satiating Europe’s cashew cravings

Business is also booming for Armendo Joaquim Balanca, whose 140 cashew trees produced two tonnes of nuts last year.

“That brought in 140,000 meticals (1,850 euros, $2,288),” he said. “I invested half and used the rest to pay medical costs and the children’s school fees.”

Buoyed by his success, he now plans to plant 500 new trees.

Since 2010, cashew consumption has surged in Europe, where the nuts have gained in popularity primarily because of their health benefits.

Almost three million tonnes are harvested worldwide every year with Ivory Coast’s crop leading the way with an annual production of 7,25,000 tonnes, followed by India and Vietnam.

With output of just 140,000 tonnes every year, Mozambique lags behind the top three producers but is closing the gap — and has big ambitions.

“The productivity of the cashew trees is increasing and our plans are, in the near future, to reach the historic level of 200,000 tonnes of nuts a year,” said Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario.

That symbolic figure was reached in the 1970s — the golden age of cashew farming — but the civil war brought the sector to its knees.

When peace returned, the World Bank imposed a neoliberal economic recovery strategy that shook the sector.

Keeping the cash registers ringing

Experts forced the government to end a tax which had funded development of the industry locally, convinced that the export of raw nuts would be more profitable for producers.

The impact was devastating: 10,000 factory jobs were lost while the income of more than a million farmers went into freefall.

“The goal of the World Bank was to ensure that the prices were at a level high enough to be sustainable,” said the current head of the World Bank’s Mozambique office Mark Lundell.

“There were difficulties in implementing the project,” he admitted. “Our focus has always been on trying to support the industry.”

Cashew nuts are now one of the crops fuelling growth in the agricultural sector.

Today, almost half of the raw products are now processed locally.

“Without local industry, the producers would not have been unleashed,” said the government’s cashew industry promoter Jaime Chissico.

“We process far more locally than our African rivals and, with the increasing demand for processed products, we are in a good position.”

And while competition is fierce with India and Vietnam, Mozambique is holding its own and attracting international investors.

Jan Le Grange, the South African owner of 1,300 hectares (3,200 acres) near Namialo to the east of Nampula, initially grew soya.

But an overly dry year followed by a season of excessive rain forced him to rethink his plans.

“I decided to go for cashew trees,” he said, citing stable global demand and resilient prices.

Mr. Le Grange just planted 30,000 cashew trees, a number he soon hopes to triple. “It is a good opportunity. I’m very optimistic,” he said.

Source: The Hindu

Related

Tags: Americo MatosArmendo Joaquim BalancaCarlos Agostinho do RosariocashewCondor NutsFeatureJaime ChissicoLe GrangeMark LundellMozambiqueMozambique Prime MinisterNampulaNutsWorld Bankмозамбикモザンビーク莫桑比克
ScanSendShare321Tweet201Share56Pin72Send
Previous Post

Angola: Catoca mining yields US$40M

Next Post

Tesla excited at energy storage opportunities in Southern Africa

FurtherAfrica

FurtherAfrica

Founded in 2015 FurtherAfrica is an online platform centralising news and content focusing on the development and growth story of the African continent.

Related Posts

Currency

Zimbabwe considering bank fines, suspensions over currency gouging

by Staff
April 19, 2021
gas processing plant Angola
Angola

Angola to launch oil and gas licensing round on April 30

by Duarte Marques da Cruz
April 19, 2021
Where To Invest In Africa 2020 – RMB Report
Economy

Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth set to recover in 2021 – IMF

by FurtherAfrica
April 19, 2021
Fintech

South African fintech Peach Payments secures funding with plans to expand across Africa

by TechGist Africa
April 19, 2021
Aviation

Air Zimbabwe creditors to be paid through 1 to 1 Zimbabwe/US dollar ratio

by Staff
April 19, 2021
Next Post
Insight: Graphite story ‘like iron ore’ rise, says Flanagan

Tesla excited at energy storage opportunities in Southern Africa

AEIIF interviews: 60 seconds with Lungile Mashele, DBSA

Tanzania asks bank to finance hydropower project in heritage site

Where Are The Private Equity Buyers In Sub-Saharan Africa Buyer’s Market?

Toys R Us Southern Africa will continue to trade

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

2021 AFSIC
2022 Indaba Mining

FurtherAfrica Partners

The Exchange Club of Mozambique Taarifa Rwanda
CrudeMix Africa TechGist Africa Farmers Review Africa
Botswana unplugged Financial Insights Zambia Africa Oil & Power
Harambee Africa Novafrica  

Subscribe to FurtherAfrica

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new articles on your email.

Join 73,051 other subscribers.

FurtherAfrica

© 2021 FurtherMarkets

FurtherAfrica is a FurtherMarkets Limited platform

  • Countries
  • OpenTalk
  • Understanding
  • Videos
  • Weekend
  • About

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Countries
    • Angola
    • Botswana
    • Cape Verde
    • DRC
    • Eswatini
    • Ethiopia
    • Kenya
    • Malawi
    • Mauritius
    • Mozambique
    • Namibia
    • Nigeria
    • Rwanda
    • South Africa
    • Tanzania
    • Uganda
    • Zambia
    • Zimbabwe
  • OpenTalk
  • Understanding
  • Videos
  • Weekend
  • About

© 2021 FurtherMarkets

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?