The cashew, cachou or bombay nut is the seed of the cashew tree, also known as anacardium occidentale. The tree is native to Brazil, but harvest and production have expanded to Asia and, more recently, Africa.

History

The aforementioned anacardium occidentale is native to Brazil and was first introduced to India some 500 years ago. Portuguese explorers planted the tree in Goa to prevent coastal erosion, as they tend to have extensive root systems, keeping the soil in place. Its presence soon spread, expanding its conquest of the entire coastal region of the peninsula thanks to elephants eating the trees’ fruit and dispersing its seeds. It was the beginning of the global industry it is today;

The largest cashew nut producing countries are India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Benin, Ghana and Togo. Most of the cashew nuts grown in Africa are shipped to India and Vietnam, where they are then processed into the final edible nut in just a few steps. Due to developments in African countries, more and more raw nuts are processed in the country of harvest. The economy of the West African republic Guinea-Bissau is 95 percent dependent on the export of cashew nuts. Current global production of raw cashew nuts exceeds 2 million tons, or about a quarter of the world edible nuts production.

Production

The fruit, or ‘cashew apple’, which resembles a bell pepper, of the anacardium occidentale is what is called a ‘false fruit’. The real fruit, a single seed carrying the cashew nut, hangs from the apple. The fruit matures in 90 to 100 days after flowering. The ripe fruits normally start to drop in late January. The peak fruit collection period is between February and March, with a few late maturing trees dropping their fruits in April. Cashew harvesting can take place about two months after the fruit has set, when the apple takes on a pink or red cast and the nut turns gray. Alternatively, you can wait until the fruit falls to the ground, when you know it’s ripe. After harvesting, twist the nuts off of the apples by hand.

The actual fruit containing the seed is inconspicuous and hangs under the mock fruit. The skin contains poison, known as CNSL or ‘cashew nut shell liquid’, a highly corrosive oil which can cause severe skin irritation. Production of the raw nut kernels is therefore very difficult, and different in many production regions. After removing the in-shell nuts from the cashew apple, processing typically includes the following steps: preparing the nuts for shelling (drying, sizing, cleaning, steam cooking or roasting), shelling (with automatic, semi-automatic or manual machines), peeling (drying shelled nuts, automatic or manual peeling), grading (color sorting, sizing, cleaning) and packing (weighing, vacuum sealing).

Applications

The cashew apple is used for its juicy but acidic pulp, which can be eaten raw or used in the production of jam, chutney, or various beverages. However, the cashew apple contains much tannin and is very perishable. In many production regions, the fruit is discarded after removal of the cashew nut. The nuts removed from the skin are processed in various ways: they can be fried in oil (and possibly salted), roasted with hot air, coated in sugar like a sugar peanut, coated with a batter similar to bubbly nuts or used as a kitchen ingredient. Raw cashews found in health food shops have been cooked but not roasted or browned. Cashew nuts are a common ingredient in Asian cooking. They can also be ground into a spread called cashew butter similar to peanut butter. Cashews have a very high oil content, and they are used in some other nut butters to add extra oil. Due to its taste, the cashew is seen as an upper-class nut, becoming more and more interesting for industrial processing and its use in cookies and cereals or as a topping on ice-cream. The CNSL in the shells of the nut is useful too; it can be fractionated in a process similar to the distillation of petroleum, and has two primary end products: solids that are pulverized and used as friction particle for brake linings, and an amber-colored liquid that is aminated to create phenalkamine curing agents and resin modifiers.

Price Factors

As a general rule, the value of cashew nuts increases from production to consumer depending on the market. The price of unprocessed cashew nuts for instance is lower than that of processed cashews. In Vietnam, cashew exports are mainly live unprocessed kernels.

The origin of cashew nuts significantly affects their quality and nutritional composition. All cashew nuts are classified according to different standards, applicable to exports and domestic consumption. Another factor are the complexities of the production process and the fact that not all regions have fully switched to mechanization, which would require huge investments as well as state support. Price factors include grain size, nutritional content, origin, processing stage, in addition to exchange rates and transport costs.

Cashews at the beginning of the season usually have higher prices, thanks in part to a more evenly colored appearance and a higher quality of nutrition.

Overview

Cashew is a high value cash-crop known for its vast variation of uses and byproducts such as a kidney-shaped seed known as Cashew nut. Its tree is a fast thriving multiple-use tree extending across all parts of the tropics, native to north-east Brazil but today it is grown in many areas in the world.

India and Vietnam are the two largest single producers of cashew nuts, and the main suppliers of the world and European market however Africa is the epicenter of the tree as three of the biggest exporters including Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania and Nigeria come from the West and East African coasts.

Economics

About 2.5 million small farmers in Africa produces over 60% of the estimated 4.9 million metric tons of raw cashew globally. The major cashew nut producing countries in Africa are Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and Benin although less than 10% of the raw cashew produced in the region is processed locally which explains why countries like India, Vietnam depend on the region for cashew supply given their huge processing capacity.

Vietnam’s heavy dependence on RCN from Africa is primarily because she is the second largest processor of raw cashew and the largest exporter of cashew kernel worldwide with a current processing capacity that exceeds 1.2 million MT. However, India is the biggest cashews consumers in the world with a consumption rate of 0.503 pounds per capita.

In West Africa, according to a recent report by National Cashew Association, Nigeria earned $402 million from 220,000 metric tonnes of raw export to Vietnam, India and China between February and December 2017 and the production rose by 100,000 metric tonnes in 2011 to 175,000 metric tonnes in 2017, a 43% increase with a market value of $1,800 per metric tonne, as against the previous $300 per metric tonne making Nigeria the fourth largest producer of cashew in the world. This is a huge pointer to the humongous potentials in Nigeria for Cashew traders.

Consumption

Cashew can either be eaten as a fruit or processed into cashew butter and cheese. The cashew pulp can also be distilled into liquor or even processed into fruit drink just as the cashew shell can be used in a wide range of applications such as in paints and lubricants.

The raw cashew nut is the main commercial product of the cashew tree. Unlike the cashew fruit which can be eaten when plucked, the nut can’t be eaten unless after being roasted, it contains a toxin which can only be destroyed by smoke or fire. Raw nuts are either exported or processed prior to export. Processing of raw nut yields kernel, shell and husk.

Three main cashew products are traded in international market — raw nuts, cashew kernels and cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL). The fourth product — the cashew apple is generally processed and consumed locally.

Cashew kernels are consumed in the form of snacks and used in confectionery. Shell is used for manufacture of particle boards for packaging industry. Presence of CNSL in the shell makes these boards’ moth and heat resistant.

Processing of the raw nuts releases by-product called Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) that has industrial and medicinal applications. This liquid is used in friction dusts, varnishes, laminating resins, cashew cements, polymers, surfactants, foundry chemicals and intermediates of chemical industry.