The Association of Cashew Industries (Aicaju) of Mozambique said Thursday that it expects to market about 160,000 tonnes of cashew across the country in the 2021/2022 season.
“The total of 160,000 tonnes is the forecast,” Mahomed Gafar, chairman of the association told Lusa, noting that the harvest has not yet been scheduled to begin.
According to the official, climatic, handling and treatment factors contribute to “favourable indicators” for the harvest, adding that the processing expectation is around 50,000 tonnes of cashew nuts in the country’s industries.
“I believe we may even exceed our forecasts if all factors are in favour as is happening now,” Mahomed Gafar stressed.
According to figures from the Mozambican Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the projection represents growth of 12 percent compared to the previous season when 145,000 tons of cashew nuts were sold.
The Mozambican government set a reference price of 43 meticals (0.57 euro cents) to buy each kilo of cashew nuts from producers, an increase agreed between stakeholders in the sector as compared to 37 meticals (0.49 euro cents) in the previous season.
