The Cashew Value Chain in Mozambique

Carlos Costa and Christopher Delgado

No 31128602, Jobs Group Papers, Notes, and Guides from The World Bank

Abstract: Mozambique has a low average yield of raw cashew nut (RCN) of 3 kg/tree. The latest census of agriculture in 2015 estimated that 1.33 million households owned cashew trees. Another 30,000 households were involved post-harvest. One-half of RCN production sold was processed in 2015, up from 1/3 in 2008. A large share of cashew exports are raw nuts, mostly “informal” (no tax). In 2017, national production was only two-thirds of 1972, when Mozambique was the world leader in cashew exports. An export tax was imposed on RCN exports in 2001, currently 18 percent of the F.O.B. price, to promote domestic processing. Key challenges for production include replacing aging trees with improved root-stock and stepped-up anti-fungal spraying. Industrial processing now comprises 15 factories employing 17,000 workers, 57 percent of whom are women. Main recommendations are: a multi-stakeholder Platform to periodically review cashew developments; smallholder participation in producer organizations; privatization of seedlings distribution and tree-spraying without subsidies; public and private commercial infrastructure (warehouses, transportation, access roads); accessible international market and technical information; using cashew shells to generate energy; using cashew apple to produce packaged fermented beverages; and a cross-Ministry push on food safety protocols for cashew.

Keywords: In recent decades; Mozambique has undergone enormous political and economic transformations. A colony of Portugal; the country moved to a phase of socialism after gaining independence in 1975 but; after economic collapse; in 1986 it started implementing a program of economic reform aimed at establishing a market economy in the country. During this period; Mozambique suffered an armed conflict. As a result of the conflict and other socio-economic transformations; production collapsed during much of the period to 1993. From 1994; and with the combination of peace; political stability; economic reform and large aid flows; the country shifted from being the poorest country in the world to achieving the highest growth rates in the region. Poverty rates have been significantly reduced and agricultural incomes have increased. In Mozambique 75 percent of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods. For this reason; government interventions in the agricultural sector potentially have large impacts on many people's welfare. The purpose of the chapter is to analyze and measure such interventions for a group of agricultural products during the past three decades of economic transformation. The reasons behind the evolution of policies in Mozambique are explored before; in the last section; we conclude by discussing prospects for further policy reform. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 77
Date: 2019-01-01
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