The President of National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Tola Faseru, has said that cashew export generated N50.4billion (about $253 million) in foreign exchange for the country in 2015.
He revealed this on Monday, during the cashew planting season flag-off and roll out of Cashew Expansion Programme of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture at Ife, Osun State, stressing that the nation produces about 160,000 metric tonnes of cashew yearly.
Faseru said the target was to move production to 500,000 tonnes by 2020, and also be able to develop a processing capacity of 70 per cent which is about 350,000 metric tonnes, noting that Nigeria is the sixth largest cashew producer in the world after Ivory Coast, India, Vietnam, Tanzania and Guinea Bissau.
According to him, cashew is currently grown in over 21 states of the federation, including Ebonyi, Kogi, Kwara, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Cross River, Edo, Nassarawa, Benue, Taraba, Ogun, Oyo, Osun , Ondo, Ekiti, Delta, Akwa Ibom , FCT and Niger, adding that It can be grown in all parts of the country.
He said that cashew is one of the 13 Non-oil Strategic Export Products (NSEPs), to be used to diversify the economy away from oil under the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan of the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment.
He said he was satisfied with the promptness of implementation of the first phase of the four-year cashew development road map which is to scale up its production.
Comments are closed.