The Executive Director of Cashew Council Ghana, Mr Agyarko Mintah, has raised serious concerns about pricing and regulatory issues affecting the cashew industry. Speaking during a monitoring exercise, he highlighted the adverse impact of foreign traders manipulating market prices and the need for improved regulatory enforcement to stabilize the sector.
Mr Mintah revealed that foreign traders often offer prices significantly above market value at the beginning of the season, enticing local farmers. However, once substantial quantities of cashew nuts are secured, these traders withdraw from the market, causing a collapse in prices. They later return, purchasing the nuts at heavily reduced prices. This practice undermines local traders and processors, leading to financial losses for Ghanaian businesses.
According to Mr Mintah, the 2023/2024 cashew season saw all 20 processing factories in Ghana shut down by mid-year due to their inability to compete with the inflated prices offered by foreign traders. The closures resulted in significant job losses, undermining efforts to provide sustainable employment through the cashew value chain.
“The whole idea of the Cashew Development Center is to ensure that we create employment for Ghanaians and provide jobs throughout the year,” he emphasized.
To address these challenges, the National Council of Ghana and the Pre-Growth Development Authority, with support from the police, have initiated a monitoring exercise to ensure compliance with licensing and permit requirements. The exercise also involves checking the transport of cashew nuts to prevent illegal trading practices.
Mr. Mintah appealed to District and Regional Directors of Assemblies to support these efforts. “We need their cooperation to sanitize the system and keep the sector afloat,” he stated.
He warned that if prices continue to rise beyond international market levels, local traders and processors will be priced out of the market, resulting in further job losses and increased foreign dominance in the sector.
The initiative seeks to protect the interests of local stakeholders and ensure a stable and sustainable cashew industry that benefits Ghanaian farmers, traders, and processors
