Nigeria could generate as much as $10 billion annually from the cashew industry if the right investment framework, supportive government policies and aggressive value-addition strategies are put in place, the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) has said.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja ahead of the forthcoming Nigeria Cashew Day 2026, the national president of NCAN, Dr Ojo Joseph Ajanaku, said Nigeria has the land, manpower and market advantage to become a global leader in cashew production and processing, but continues to underperform due to weak policy coordination, poor production data and limited local processing capacity.
According to Ajanaku, the Nigeria Cashew Day initiative, launched in Benin in 2023, was designed to bring together stakeholders across the cashew value chain — including farmers, processors, exporters, investors and service providers — to spotlight the sector’s vast but largely untapped economic potential.
The conference, which moved to Enugu in 2024 and Lagos in 2025, will hold in Abuja in 2026, a deliberate decision aimed at engaging directly with the federal government and shaping national policy.
“Our aim is to have a national cashew policy that is owned by Nigerians, not one imposed by external interests,” Ajanaku said.
“We want a policy that protects the industry, promotes organic cashew, and allows us to fully own what we produce.”
Vast Land, Weak Utilisation
Ajanaku noted that Nigeria has about 92 million hectares of land, with more than 34 million hectares of arable land currently lying fallow, a situation he described as economically indefensible. He contrasted this with Côte d’Ivoire, which has roughly 32 million hectares of land but consistently outperforms Nigeria in both cocoa and cashew production.
“With proper harnessing, the Nigerian cashew industry can create jobs for over 50 million Nigerians,” he said.
“There is nothing lacking. We have the land, the population and the financial capacity to be the number one cashew producer in the world.”
Exporting Raw Nuts, Exporting Jobs
Beyond production, the NCAN president warned that Nigeria’s continued dependence on exporting raw cashew nuts represents a massive loss of value, jobs and foreign exchange.
He lamented that many leading cashew-producing states lack even a single processing facility, citing Kogi State as a striking example.
“Kogi is one of the leading cashew-producing states in Nigeria, yet it has no single cashew factory,” Ajanaku said.
“If factories are located in producing areas, our children will be employed, rural economies will grow, and insecurity will reduce.”
He urged state governments to introduce targeted incentives to attract investors to set up processing plants in producing areas, while encouraging indigenous entrepreneurs to invest in their home states.
Data Gaps and Revenue Leakages
Ajanaku also raised serious concerns about the absence of reliable production statistics in the sector, noting that Nigeria currently relies largely on export figures to estimate output.
“We don’t have the correct statistical structure to determine how much cashew we produce,” he said.
“Worse still, a large volume of cashew leaves the country without records, as exporters bypass official procedures to avoid repatriating proceeds.”
According to NCAN, officially recorded exports from the last season stood at over 400,000 metric tonnes, valued at about $700 million, but the actual volume is believed to be significantly higher.
Scaling Up Production
Ajanaku said Nigeria has the capacity to scale cashew production to over 2 million metric tonnes annually within five years, with the potential to exceed 4 million tonnes in the longer term if policy, finance and infrastructure challenges are addressed.
“At a conservative price of $1,500 per tonne, producing 2 million tonnes would generate $3 billion, excluding by-products,” he explained.
He highlighted the largely ignored opportunities in cashew by-products, particularly Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) and residue cake, which are often discarded locally but command strong prices in international markets.
“Residue cake sells for about 95 cents per kilogram globally, yet in Nigeria it is treated as waste,” he said.
“If we process what we produce locally and fully exploit the entire value chain, Nigeria can earn a minimum of $10 billion annually from the cashew industry.”
Signalling Nigeria Is Open for Cashew Investment
Ajanaku concluded that Nigeria Cashew Day 2026 would serve as a strategic platform to send a clear signal to global investors that Nigeria is ready to take a leading position in the global cashew market — provided decisive policy choices are made now.
“The cashew industry can be a major pillar of Nigeria’s post-oil economy,” he said.
“But it requires political will, coherent policies and a clear commitment to value addition.”
