Association delighted with cashew nut farmers’ earnings


The National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) on Monday expressed delight over improvements in the living standards of cashew nut farmers in the country.

The association’s National Public Relations Officer, Mr Sotonye Anga, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, said the body was particularly excited over the recent price of N450, 000 per metric ton of raw cashew nuts.

NAN reports that a metric ton of the commodity used to go for between N300, 000 and N350, 000.

Anga said that now, farmers were already selling their produce as the season had started, while attributing the increase in price to the Quality Assurance Protocol (QAP).

“Since we started this QAP in 2014, we have experienced a lot of milestones in the quality of the Nigerian cashew nuts and the association has ensured that farmers adhered strictly to it.

“Farmers are really having a good time and smiling to the banks because a metric ton of raw cashew nuts is selling for N450, 000.00, from our findings.

“We are especially excited about this development because the season is just starting; however, we hope that this trend is maintained throughout the season,’’ Anga said.

The association’s image-maker assured international buyers of the quality of Nigerian raw cashew nuts.

Speaking on storage and export processes, Anga said that cashew traders were in need of the Federal Government’s support in providing or subsidising jute bags, for the storage and export of the commodity.

“The availability of jute bags for cashew nut export, is a challenge to the overall success of the QAP, because, once the raw nuts are not properly packaged, our efforts may be wasted.

“We are, therefore, calling on the government to assist in this regard, to ensure that the bags are available to exporters at a subsidised rate,’’ the association’s spokesman added.



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