Cashew farmers expect early harvest, increase in production

The National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) has projected a 10 per cent increase in cashew nut production for 2018. It said this would bring the total value of nuts to 185 tons, up from its 2017 level of 175 tons. The national publicity secretary of the association, Mr Sotonye Anga, made the disclosure to […]

The National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) has projected a 10 per cent increase in cashew nut production for 2018.

It said this would bring the total value of nuts to 185 tons, up from its 2017 level of 175 tons.

The national publicity secretary of the association, Mr Sotonye Anga, made the disclosure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Anga said the expectations were because thousands of new cashew trees at their 17th week were already flowering in preparation to fruit.

According to him, there is also a prospective early harvest in 2018 starting from January.

“It is a good thing to see reports from members across the cashew producing states that even new cashew plantations of 16 to 17 months are already flowering.

“This goes to show that there will be enormous economical gains for the nation in terms of revenue.

“This year, there was a record high sale of raw cashew nuts because a metric ton of the commodity was sold for N700,000; that has never happened before.”