TAN Ivoire SA has secured a €9 million loan commitment (roughly US$10.1 million) from the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO). The company will build a plant in Korhogo with 30,000 tonnes of annual raw cashew nut capacity.
Separately, UAE-based Dorado FZCO plans a US$18 million facility in Yamoussoukro. That plant will process 50,000 tonnes each year. The International Finance Corporation approved a proposed US$15 million loan for the project on 9 October.
Processing capacity moves higher
The projects build on rapid sectoral growth. The country had 37 operating plants in 2025, up from 17 in 2016, while installed capacity reached 830,000 tonnes per year, according to the Côte d’Ivoire Cashew Processors Association. Domestic processors handled nearly 660,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts in 2025, about 43 per cent of national production.
The figures
| 17 | 2016 |
| 37 | 2025 |
Source: Côte d’Ivoire Cashew Processors Association
The government targets a rise in local processing from 45 per cent to 70 per cent by 2030 under its 2026–2030 National Development Plan. The policy aims to lift export earnings, create industrial jobs and deepen domestic manufacturing.
State support includes a 400 CFA franc export subsidy per kilogram of cashew kernels shipped abroad. Processors also receive exemptions on customs duties and value-added tax for industrial equipment and imported spare parts.
By FurtherAfrica’s reading of the numbers, the sector is moving from capacity expansion towards deeper value-chain development. The table below shows processing growth as reported by the Côte d’Ivoire Cashew Processors Association.
| Year | Operating Plants | Installed Capacity (tonnes/yr) | Processed Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 17 | — | — |
| 2025 | 37 | 830,000 | ~660,000 tonnes |
| 2030 (target) | — | — | 70% of production |
What does the deal mean for investors?
The new facilities give investors access to established raw-material supply and growing industrial infrastructure. Execution will depend on factory completion, raw-nut supply chains and working capital.
Cashew waste opens a parallel investment route. On 11 September, India’s Essar Biofuels signed a memorandum with the Cotton, Cashew and Shea Council alongside the Investment Promotion Centre. The proposed US$75 million project would convert cashew-shell liquid into cardanol, an industrial chemical that creates revenue from material once treated as waste.
That model is gaining ground. Singapore-based Valency International secured a US$60 million green bond for cashew-waste processing in Côte d’Ivoire, per Climate Bonds Initiative data reported by Ecofin Agency. The bond forms part of Valency’s US$150 million programme targeting industrial chemicals and renewable fuels, fertilisers and electricity from cashew shells.
Côte d’Ivoire’s processing drive therefore reaches beyond kernel production. It opens positions in chemicals, energy and specialised industrial inputs, a pattern similar to the Ethiopia avocado processing plant targeting 150 tonnes daily, where local value addition is reshaping export profiles across the continent.
Investors should watch whether TAN Ivoire and Dorado reach financial close and begin construction. Progress towards the 70 per cent processing target by 2030 will signal how firmly the country’s agro-industrial ambition translates into output.
Quick answers
Under the 2026–2030 National Development Plan, the government aims to process 70 per cent of national cashew production locally by 2030, up from approximately 43 per cent in 2025.
Cardanol is an industrial chemical derived from cashew-shell liquid, a by-product of nut processing. Essar Biofuels has proposed a US$75 million plant to produce it in Côte d’Ivoire, converting material once discarded as waste into a commercially valuable export product.
