NCAN Kicks Against Raw Cashew Export Ban, Says Policy Risks 5m Jobs

• Seeks trade minister’s neutrality in association’s leadership tussle

James Emejo and Mariam Adedokun in Abuja

National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) has opposed moves to ban the export of raw cashew nuts, warning that such a policy could devastate millions of smallholder farmers and destabilise the country’s cashew industry.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement and Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the association in Abuja, President, NCAN, Dr. Ojo Ajanaku, said the association would resist any policy that compelled farmers to subsidise local processing at their own expense.

He cautioned that ongoing efforts by certain international and vested interests to influence Nigeria’s cashew policy could undermine the sector, which he said had taken years of intervention to stabilise.

According to him, Nigeria’s cashew industry is largely driven by smallholder farmers cultivating less than one hectare of land, who already grapple with high production and logistics costs.

He recalled that in 2017, when cashew prices dropped significantly, many farmers resorted to cutting down their trees due to unsustainable returns, stressing that price stability remains the primary incentive for production.

Ajanaku stated that Nigeria, once the world’s leading cashew producer with about 700,000 metric tonnes annually, had since fallen behind competitors like Côte d’Ivoire, which now produced over  one million metric tonnes annually, while Nigeria struggled with between 350,000 and 400,000 metric tonnes.

He warned that restricting farmers’ ability to sell at competitive market prices would reverse the modest gains recorded in recent years.

He said, “Our farmers cannot be made to subsidise processing in disguise,” adding that any value addition policy must translate into improved income for producers.

The NCAN president highlighted the burden of logistics, stating that farmers often travel between five and 15 kilometres through difficult terrain before accessing transport routes, with logistics alone consuming up to 40 per cent of their earnings.

He added that production costs, including labour for farm maintenance, accounted for nearly 30 per cent, leaving farmers with minimal profit margins.

On processing, Ajanaku stated that local processors faced prohibitive financing and operating conditions, making it difficult to compete globally.

He explained that processors operated within a short harvest window of three to four months but must store products for up to nine months, often relying on loans with interest rates as high as 25 to 35 per cent.

Combined with high energy costs, particularly for diesel-powered operations, he said processors were unable to break even under current conditions.

He maintained that banning raw cashew exports would not solve those structural challenges but would, instead, shift the burden onto farmers.

The NCAN president warned that the cashew industry currently supported over five million Nigerians, while local processing capacity could only generate about 35,000 jobs if all domestically produced cashew were processed locally.

According to him, “It does not make economic sense to endanger five million livelihoods in an attempt to create 35,000 jobs.”

Ajanaku urged the federal government to adopt a balanced approach by supporting processors through targeted incentives, including single-digit interest loans of between three and five per cent, rather than imposing restrictive export policies.

He also dismissed reports of leadership crisis within the association, attributing such claims to external interference linked to disagreements over policy directions, including opposition to genetically modified initiatives and export restrictions.

He reaffirmed the unity of the association and its commitment to policies that promoted sustainability, protected farmers, and ensured the long-term growth of Nigeria’s cashew industry.

In a communique issued at the end of the EGM, stakeholders reaffirmed commitment to constitutional governance, due process, and institutional stability within the group.

NCAN stakeholders, comprising representatives from Kogi, Edo, Kwara, Benue, Enugu, Abia, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kano, Zamfara, Kebbi, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasarawa, and Niger states, deliberated on critical governance and institutional matters affecting the association.

After extensive deliberations, the meeting resolved that stakeholders shall formally write to the minister, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), requesting ministerial neutrality pending judicial determination of the leadership dispute within NCAN.

Among other things, the meeting resolved the immediate suspension of Chairman, BOT, Mr. Irezondu Sunny Stevenson, and Secretary, Chief Abraham Adesida, and referred their conduct to the disciplinary committee for investigation.