Côte d’Ivoire cashew kernel sales set to hit US$623M in 2026

CÔTE D’IVOIRE – Côte d’Ivoire expects a sharp rise in earnings from processed cashew nuts in 2026, driven by a fast increase in local processing and steady output growth.

Côte d’Ivoire has led global cashew production since 2015, with annual harvests now above 1.5 million tonnes. The country has also stepped up investment in processing, a move that now shows clear results in export figures.

Export revenue from cashew kernels should reach 350 billion CFA francs (about US$623 million) in 2025, up from 209 billion CFA francs a year earlier, according to the Cotton and Cashew Council. Mamadou Berté, the council’s director, linked the growth to higher factory activity and rising processed volumes.

Manufacturers plan to process about 659,579 tonnes of cashew nuts in 2025, up from 344,028 tonnes in 2024. Côte d’Ivoire now runs 37 processing units with a combined capacity of about 830,000 tonnes per year. Fewer than 10 plants operated in 2015. Local and foreign investors have backed the sector, helped by tax and non tax incentives.

Authorities want the country to process half of its cashew output locally by 2030. Berté said new projects should soon add about 200,000 tonnes of extra capacity. Côte d’Ivoire remains the world’s second largest exporter of cashew kernels after Vietnam. Production reached about 1.5 million tonnes of raw nuts in 2025, up from 944,673 tonnes in 2024 and 1.2 million tonnes in 2023.

Burkina Faso expands but faces supply tension

Elsewhere in West Africa, Burkina Faso has also pushed into processing. In December, President Ibrahim Traoré opened a new plant in Bobo-Dioulasso under the name Burkina Cajou. The project cost 9.74 billion CFA francs (US$17.4 million) and can process 150,000 tonnes per year. Public funds covered up to a quarter of the cost.

Earlier in 2025, the government launched work on a cashew apple processing unit in Péni, costing 6.65 billion CFA francs (US$11.5 million). The plant should handle 5,000 tonnes of apples per year for juice, wine, vinegar and alcohol.

However, access to raw nuts remains a concern. Many factories stop work each year due to limited local supply as exporters chase higher prices abroad. In 2024, Burkina Faso processed only about 16,000 tonnes, around 10 percent of output, despite higher installed capacity.

Limited gains from US tariff change

Recent changes in the United States market may bring only modest gains for African exporters. The US takes about 20 percent of global cashew kernel imports, but Africa supplied just 7 percent of that volume in 2024.

Jim Fitzpatrick, a market expert, said, “The end of US tariffs on cashew will have a limited impact on Africa while it will have a much more pronounced effect in Vietnam.” He added, “Over the last three or four years, U.S. buyers’ interest in African cashew kernels has actually declined.”

Fitzpatrick also noted that the end of some USAID projects has reduced marketing support in the US. “Although import tariffs have been removed, the situation remains quite volatile,” he said.

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