Ghanaian farmers dissatisfied as cashew price falls by 75%

During the peak period of the 2018 season, a bag of raw cashew nuts (100kg) which was quoted at GHC800 is currently sold for GHC200.

This represents a significant reduction of 75 percent.

This has led to some frustrated farmers who do not have storage facilities to leave the commodity to rot on the farms. According to them, it does not make business sense to trade at the current price considering the cost involved in picking and carting the nuts to the points of sale.

The B&FT said that some buyers have raised concerns about the high moisture content of the RCN and ‘low’ grade of the nuts. However, Secretary of Tain Cashew Union in the Tain district of Bono Region, Solomon Ameyaw, said that the buyers only give flimsy excuses to manipulate the market.

“They raised these issues last year and farmers have taken it upon themselves to dry the nuts before selling – but it has not changed the posture of buyers,” Ameyaw said.

He added that the buyers, who are mostly exporters, have the ability to skew prices to the disadvantage of ‘helpless farmers’ due to the free market system. He said that the lack of a regulatory body to ensure fairness in the commodity trade has left them at the mercy of the buyers.

He urged the government to prioritise the establishment of the Tree and Industrial Crops Development Authority to salvage the situation.

President Akufo-Addo, during his recent tour of the Ahafo and Bono East Regions, announced that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has completed its framing of the much-awaited tree and Industrial Crops Development Authority. He said that the draft bill is expected to be laid in Parliament soon.

The proposed Authority will among others have the mandate to accelerate the production and marketing of tree crops including cashew, mango, rubber, oil palm and coffee. This is expected to enhance the country’s earnings from non-traditional exports.

Mr. Ameyaw further pleaded with the government to ensure that the 10-year cashew development plan is implemented. According to him, implementers of the cashew blueprint “are sleeping on the job. Not much is happening in the area of grafting and distribution of seedlings to farmers so as to expand production”.