The Tree Crop Development Authority (TCDA) has cautioned persons and companies exporting raw cashew nuts (RCN) without registration and licence to desist from the act.
An announcement to all cashew exporters by the TCDA stated that the act constitutes a violation of laws governing the country’s cashew export trade and stipulated sanctions.
The TCDA expressed worry over the surge in illegal exports which have been contributing to the high volume of raw cashew nut trade from the country.
Previous export ban
Back in 2016, government experimented with an export ban on raw cashew in order to encourage homegrown processing.
However, the policy had to be abandoned within a couple of weeks after vociferous protests from farmers and traders.
Incidence of increasing cashew exports
Ghana remains the third -exporter of unprocessed cashew nuts in the world – behind Ivory Coast in first place and Cambodia in second.
As a whole, the country grows some 180,000 tonnes of the commodity annually. Worryingly, almost 90 percent of the cashew produced is exported in its raw form.
The Africa Cashew Alliance has said Ghana generates some US$300million in export revenues each year.
However, the Alliance maintains there could be significantly higher returns if the commodity is processed to add value.
Absence of value addition
The lack of value addition in the cashew sector has warranted cashew farmers’ sole reliance on exporting the raw nuts, since that is the only viable option to make money.
Last month, the Cashew Traders and Exporters Association of Ghana expressed concern over unlawful practices by some unauthorised foreign traders in the market.
The Association claimed foreign traders were manipulating the market by purchasing the commodity at inflated prices, thereby undermining established trade practices.
This activity, the local association has said, may potentially lead to local cashew industry’s collapse.
The Association claims foreign players are unlawfully purchasing cashew as high as GH¢25.00, significantly exceeding the official selling price of GH¢15.00 per kilogramme.
“These foreign dealers are currently trading in the local market instead of exporting the commodity,” an official of the Association, Kwabena Owusu, indicated.
He said lack of and little prospects in the cashew processing chain is partly to blame as individual businesses are not empowered to undertake processing.
“This is one of the key reasons why illegal trade in the commodity will continue to soar, since the major option available is to sell the raw nuts to foreigners instead of processing – which is cost consuming, Kwabena Owusu noted.
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