Ivory Coast produced a record 1 million tons of cashews last year - now it aims to triple that

Top cashew producer Ivory Coast is to open three new processing plants with the aim of tripling its output of shelled nuts by next year, its Cotton-Cashew Council said Tuesday. The African country last year produced a record one million tonnes of nuts, up from 850 000 tonnes in 2019, but just 10 percent have so far been processed domestically. Ivory Coast aims to process more of its own crop for sale in the huge American market. Until now, most of the nuts have been shelled abroad then shipped to the US at an exorbitant cost. "The agribusiness sites of Brobo, Yamoussouko and Bondoukou aim to process 300,000 tonnes annually from 2022," said Karim Berthe, the director of processing at the Cotton-Cashew Council. "These new facilities should boost the domestic processing rate from 10 to 30-40 percent." Cashew kernels are used in cooking and cosmetics, while resin from the shells has various industrial uses, including as a fluid for aircraft braking systems -- earning the nut its ...