‘Govt to outline measures to improve cashew production’
The government is to come up with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) within the next 60 days to outline measures to promote the production, sale and processing of cashew nuts in the country.
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The document would indicate the government's commitment towards extending financial, material and technical support towards the production, sale and processing of cashew nuts.
Speaking during a working visit to a cashew nut processing plant at Prampram last Thursday, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, said the MoU would have inputs from the Cabinet, Parliament, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ministry of Health.
The $35 million processing plant, which started operations in November, 2015, is owned by a Brazilian company called USIBRAS. The plant has the capacity to process 35,000 metric tonnes of cashew nuts per year.
The processed cashew nuts are exported to the mother company of USIBRAS in the United States of America.
Ghana's production
Mr Spio-Garbrah said cashew production was a profitable business, describing it as the agriculture goldmine.
He said the current national annual production of 70,000 metric tonnes of cashew nuts was low compared to the 700,000 produced by neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire.
As a result, he said Ghanaian farmers were not able to produce enough to supply to the local processing companies.
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Mr Spio- Garbrah said the placement of a ban on the importation of cashew nuts from Côte d'Ivoire had made it more difficult for the local processing plants to have the required cashew nuts for processing.
He, therefore, said there was the need for the government and private individuals to invest in cashew production to supply to the local processing plants.
Mr Spio-Garbrah said his ministry, together with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, would work on the extension of credit facilities to the farmers.
USIBRAS operations
The Director of USIBRAS, Mr Tarcico Falcao, said the company did not have enough supply of cashew nuts from Ghana.
He said the company initially imported cashew nuts from Côte d'Ivoire and indicated the ban on its importation from Côte d'Ivoire had affected the supplies to the company.
Mr Falcao said the company now imported cashew nuts from Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire but still had a huge deficit.
As a result, he said, the company's production had gone down by 20 per cent, reducing the workforce from 641 to 521.
Mr Falcao said the company might fold up if the supplies of cashew nuts kept dwindling.
Brazilian Ambassador
The Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Irene Vida Gala, said Ghana had the potential to increase its cashew nuts production.
Therefore, she said, there was the need for a collaborative effort to increase the production of cashew nuts.