Income from the export of Mozambican cashew nuts, one of the country’s main cash crops, grew 71% in 2024, to a record US$98.2 million, according to official data obtained by Lusa.
According to data from a statistical report by the central bank, which details exports in 2024, in the last quarter of the year alone, cashew sales abroad yielded US$60.1 million.
In 2023, these exports had grown to US$57.3 million and, in the previous year, to US$51.7 million , while in 2021 they represented only US$30 million.
According to the 2024 budget implementation report from the Ministry of Finance, last year around 4.8 million cashew seedlings were produced, and around 4.4 million were distributed, still 8% and 5% less than the previous year, respectively.
“The seedlings distributed covered around 65,303 producing families, of which 16,175 are headed by women, and were planted in an area of around 87,056 hectares with a survival rate of 89%,” the document reads.
The Mozambican Almond Institute (IAM) recently announced that the country could surpass its target for cashew nut sales, estimated at 152,000 tonnes, driven by the good production levels recorded in the current agricultural campaign.
“The performance of this campaign has been very positive. It is not over yet, but we are confident that we will surpass the 160,000 tonne mark, which is already an excellent result,” said the IAM’s general director, Ilídio Bande.
Source: Lusa
