CASHEW NUTS

Cashew is an edible nut which is rich in oil and protein. The kernet is found inside a kidney-shaped (or, boxing-glove shaped, if you prefer) inedible nut of a cashew apple. Cashew kernels are packed with calories, soluble dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and numerous health-promoting phyto-chemicals that help protect form diseases and cancers.

All over the world, cashew is primarily used as snacks although they are frequently used in Indian cuisine too. 80% of global use is by the snack industry which makes use of the whole kernels. A lesser industry is the food processing industry which makes use of broken kernels, where they are used for chocolate bars, confectioneries, baked foods, cashew butter, cake and ice cream toppings and breakfast cereals. 

WHERE CASHEW NUTS CAN BE FOUND IN COMMERCIAL QUANTITIES IN NIGERIA

In Nigeria, cashew season is from February to May but is often traded for much longer (by traders who had stored the nuts during the season). Cashew can be found in exportable commercial quantities in Oyo, Osun, Kogi, Edo, Niger, Kwara, Imo and Enugu States. In terms of location, if you are interested in getting good quality and quantity of cashew nuts in Nigeria, the specific locations you may target are Ogbomoso, Iseyin, Oyo Town, Saki in Oyo State, Iwo and Ejigbo in Osun State, Anyigba and Ankpa in Kogi State, Auchi in Edo State, Lafia in Nassarawa State, Keffi in Niger State and Okigwe in Imo State.

Outside Nigeria, Nigeria’s cashews are generally divided into two groups- Ogbomoso Cashew and others. Kogi State is the largest producers of cashew nuts in Nigeria.

HOW TO BUY CASHEW NUTS

You can either buy wet or dried from the farmers or Local Buying Agents (LBAs). “Dried” cashew nuts are more expensive than the “wet” ones. When properly dried, cashew nuts from Ogbomosho will lose 3-5% of its total weight while those from other part of the country will lose about 10% of their weight hence, the premium on the price of the dried nuts. However, in spite of the premium price placed on the dried nuts, experience has shown that the farmers/LBAs will always cut corners and would not dry the nuts to good export conditions. This is so that they do not have up to the expected weight-loss. Therefore, it is always advisable to buy wet and dry to standard yourself.

We have a post that explains the best ways to buy raw cashew nuts in Nigeria and you can find it here.

In terms of payment methods, there are generally four ways cashew nuts, or any other agricultural produce for that matter, are purchased form the farmers or LBAs- advance payment; spot payment; payment on delivery or advance-deposit-and-balance-on-delivery payment. Understanding the dynamics of payments can make or break your export business. Knowing how to deal with your suppliers is more-or-less an art perfected only by experience.

The post on this blog with the invaluable explanation on this is titled: HOW TO BUY RAW CASHEW NUTS IN NIGERIA.

OGBOMOSHO CASHEW

Although all cashew nuts are similar, they actually vary in size, oil contents, shell thickness and ease of processing. The quality of cashew in Nigeria differs largely based on the areas they are grown. The Cashew with the best quality in Nigeria is known to the outside world as Ogbomoso Cashew. In reality, there are no cashews from Ogbomoso. Instead, Ogbomoso is a central collection centre for cashews in its entire axis such as Iseyin, Iwo, Saki and others.

At the beginning of the season (before the rains) the specification of nuts found in this axis is KOR (Kernel Turn-Out Ratio) of between 48 and 52ibs and it has the Nut Count of around 170-185/kg.

For the Nigerian market, Ogbomosho cashew is considered premium quality and, therefore, commands an extra premium price of about fifty dollars ($50) in the international market. The reason for this is largely because it does not have peeling problems during and processing and also because of the size of the kernels inside the cashew nut.

OTHER CASHEWS

Of the other areas in Nigeria where cashew nuts can be found in commercial quantities, Ayingba and Ankpa and other areas in Kogi States are of a high quality. At the beginning of the season, the KOR is about 48-50 (although it drops quickly as we get into the season). We also have KOR of 48 in Auchi, 46 in Niger State and 45 in Lafia, Nassarawa State and Okigwe in Imo State at the beginning of the season. Also, the Nut counts of these other cashew nuts are 200-220/kg.

PRICING

The pricing of cashew nut is largely based on its location, dryness, nut counts (how large the shells are), shelling outturns (yield), and evidence of fungal or insect damage. There is also, of course, the bargaining powers of the interested buyer and the seller. Interestingly, even the parallel market rates of foreign exchange also do have an important role to play in the eventual amount RCN are sold for.

Vitally, it is proper to conduct an assurance test on the quality of the RCN before the exporter agrees to pay for the RCN. This is because at any given time, there are always different prices for different qualities of RCN. It is important, therefore, to know exactly what the exporter will be buying as this will aid, in no small measure, the price that the exporter should be willing to pay the farmer/LBA for the RCN.

You can find more information on how to know the quality of cashew nuts in the post THE SPECIFICATION AND QUALITY OF RAW CASHEW NUTS IN NIGERIA.

BEST PREPARATION OF CASHEW NUTS FOR EXPORTATION

Regardless of how good your nuts are when you purchase them, how you handle them afterwards can maintain, reduce or improve the quality of your nuts. If you do not adopt the best method of preservation and drying, what you packaged and send to your buyer will undoubtedly be different from the horror your buyer will get when they open the container containing the RCN you sent to them.

When you get your cashew nuts, there are generally going to average a moisture level of around 16%. This moisture level is from two difference sources in a cashew nut. Cashew nuts are required to be very dry (at most, 10% moisture) if they are going to be suitable for exportation.

You can find our in-depth analysis specially written to help you understand this crucial part of execution of RCN under the heading: BEST METHODS TO ADOPT IN THE PREPARATION OF RAW CASHEW NUTS FOR EXPORTATION.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF CASHEW NUTS IN NIGERIA

There are different types of Raw Cashew Nuts (RCN) that can be found in Nigeria. During processing, they give different outputs. You can find more information on Nigerian Cashew Nuts on CASHEW IN NIGERIA – BEST EXPERT INFORMATION ON EXPORTATION OF NIGERIAN CASHEW.

The specification and quality of RCN are largely based on their location, time of the season, moisture level amongst other things. In this post, you will find the knowledge that will help you be a better judge of these details and also get equipped as to what you must do before you settle for the “quality” information you get from a farmer or Local Buying Agents (LBAs).

SPECIFICATION OF CASHEW NUTS IN NIGERIA

In the same area, one will find different quality of RCN at the beginning, middle and end of the season. We are going to consider the average quality one can find at the different locations at the beginning of the season- which is when they are at their peak.

                                                  Ogbomosho                       Others

Nut Count:                                             170-185/kg                               180-220

KOR:                                                        48-52lbs                                  46-51lbs

Moisture Content:                                 8%Max                                      8%Max

Defective Nuts:                                 15%Max                                   15%Max

Foreign Matter:                               5% Max                                   5% Max

THINGS THAT AFFECTS THE QUALITY OF CASHEW NUTS

•       Quality of the Raw Cashew Nut (RCN), which is based on its size, yield and defectiveness.
•       The moisture of the nuts.
•       How the RCN are stored, including the kind of bags where they are stored.
•       The method adopted to dry the cashew nuts.
•       The temperature of the warehouse where the nuts are stored.
•       The preparation of the nuts for exportation.
•       The dressing of the container.
•       The stuffing of the RCN into the container.

Each of the preceding items mentioned can all have positive or negative effect on RCN. If only one of them is not properly understood and conducted, the fact that the rest were done correctly will, most likely, count for naught as the result will be a bad cargo. Below is a picture of a bad cargo when it arrived at its destination port. The fact that the KOR of the RCN and even the type were fantastic when the goods were put in the container did not matter eventually as what the Buyer got was a worthless cargo. Perhaps more than anything else in exportation of agricultural commodities, one must learn and know how to properly prepare each agricultural commodity for exportation. The way you prepare Tiger Nuts is not the same way you prepare RCN or Dried Ginger Slices. The lack of adequate knowledge of the intricacies involved in the perfect execution of export contracts have led to heavy losses for both exporters and buyers.

The exporter must have sound understanding of how to know the quality of RCN or he would pay dearly for it. The farmers/LBAs are interested in selling their commodities; they will not explain the quality to you. In fact, most of the time, they embellish the quality of their commodities in order to either sell them quickly or at a price higher than the normal price of their commodities or both. If the exporter is inexperience in this regard, it is vital to enlist the support of a “quality” assurance person or company.

HOW TO TEST FOR, AND KNOW, THE QUALITY OF RAW CASHEW NUTS IN NIGERIA

What a quality assurance person/company will do is to take random sampling of the RCN you are interested in buying, cut them and then analyze the RCN in order to arrive at their KOR, moisture level and other relevant information. This is a vital test that should be conducted before the exporter buys the RCN. It will help the exporter know whether or not the RCN meet, or can meet, his buyer’s specification, the amount he should pay for that quality of RCN and general information about the RCN he is about to buy.

The key things to watch out for, and for which results will be got during the quality test, are:

• The size of the cashew nuts- that is, the nut count;
• The dryness of the RCN- that is, the moisture content;
• The ratio of good nuts;
• The ratio of rotten nuts;
• The ratio of spotted nuts;
• The ratio of immature nuts; and
• The Kernel Out-turn Ration (KOR).

To perform the “quality” test, the sample size required is one kilogram. First, samples will be randomly obtained from, at least, 30% of the different bags of RCN which is about to be bought. All the samples are then combined together to become one new sample. The sample is further divided into different portions. Afterwards, one portion is taken at random from where one kilogram (1kg) is measured out for the test. This 1kg will then be subjected to the test (which basically involves cutting the cashew nuts in halves and analyzing them) and the result extrapolated to determine the quality of the whole RCN lot.

During the test, the nuts will be separated into good nuts, spotted nuts, immature nuts and rotten nuts. Different weights are attached to each set (1, 0.5, 0.5 and nil respectively) and this is used to multiply the weight of each of the categories before the KOR of the cargo is determined.

Below are pictures showing such an “assurance” test taking place before we made the decision on whether to buy RCN and for what price earlier this year: