Tanzania leads East Africa in cashew processing as regional output shows slow recovery
New data shows Tanzania processed over half of East Africa’s cashew nuts in 2025, even as the region still exports most of its crop in raw form.
TANZANIA – Tanzania strengthened its position as East Africa’s leading cashew processor in 2025, handling more than half of the region’s processed nuts even as most countries continue to export the crop in raw form.
According to the independent trade advisory service N’kalô, cashew processors across East Africa handled about 38,500 tonnes in 2025. The figure marks a 5 percent rise from the previous year. Despite this growth, most producing countries in the region still ship the majority of their cashew harvest abroad without processing it.
Tanzania led the region’s processing segment in 2025. The country processed about 20,000 tonnes of cashew nuts during the year. That level marks the highest output Tanzania has recorded in five years.
The figure represents a 67 percent rise from the previous year and accounts for about 52 percent of all cashew nuts processed in East Africa.
N’kalô stated in its market bulletin that Tanzania remains the only country in the region where processing expanded strongly during the year.
The stronger output links closely to improved supply. Authorities in Tanzania expected a record harvest of about 700,000 tonnes during the 2025 to 2026 season. The larger crop helped processors secure more raw nuts from the local market.
Behind Tanzania, Mozambique processed around 15,000 tonnes in 2025. However, the country recorded a 28 percent drop from the previous year.
Processing in Kenya and Madagascar showed little change. Kenyan processors handled about 2,500 tonnes while Madagascar processed about 1,000 tonnes.
Large potential remains unused
Even with Tanzania’s progress, East Africa still uses only a small share of its processing capacity.
Data from N’kalô shows that the region processed about 62,750 tonnes of cashew nuts in 2020. By 2024, the volume had fallen to 35,500 tonnes. That shift represents a decline of 43 percent within five years.
Mozambique explains much of the drop. The country once processed about 40,000 tonnes in 2020, but output has since fallen.
N’kalô noted that several local factors shape processing levels in each producing country.
In Kenya, limited supply continues to slow factory activity. Official data shows the national harvest reached only 7,803 tonnes in 2024, while installed processing capacity stands near 45,000 tonnes. In response, the Ministry of Agriculture announced a recovery plan for the sector in January 2026.
Tanzania faces a different issue. Officials often point to limited investment in processing plants.
To address the gap, the government began work in 2023 on a large agro industrial park in Maranje in the Mtwara region. The project runs in partnership with Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms. Authorities aim to build several plants there and reach a long term processing capacity of about 600,000 tonnes.
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