According to the National Cashew Association of Nigeria, if the sector is given enough attention, particularly from the government, it has the potential to boost the Nigerian economy by $3.7 billion. This was said by Ojo Ajanaku, national president of NCAN, at a press conference in Abuja on Monday.

According to Mr. Ajanaku, if given the chance, the industry could produce over two million metric tonnes of cashew annually. According to him, “Cashew currently employs over five million people in Nigeria, but if assisted to raise its amount of production, it can create more jobs.” For example, Mr. Ajanaku said, “If we sell solely the raw cashew nut without adding value, we are looking at $2.4 billion if Nigeria is able to produce two million tons of cashew.”

He stated that the global cashew market was worth $7.8 billion and that it was expected to reach $11 billion by the following year. According to the president of NCAN, Nigeria has the potential to become the continent’s top cashew producer given sufficient investment in the industry. “Basically, before we fell to the fourth position where we are now, we were Africa’s largest cashew grower,” Mr. Ajanaku clarified.

“If you look at the price that is currently in the market, it is roughly $1,700 per tonne,” he continued. This indicates that approximately $3.7 billion will be injected into the Nigerian economy.