Ministry issues directive for cashew nut exportation
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has issued an administrative directive for the exportation of Raw Cashew Nuts (RCN).
A statement signed by Dr Ekwow Spio Garbrah, sector Minister, and copied to the Ghana News Agency said, the Ministry, with oversight responsibilities for trade regulations and controls under the Import and Export Law (Act 503 Section 13) of 1995 as amended in 2000, issues the following Administrative Directive on the purchased export of RCN.
That, “Henceforth, all traders and processors are to note that they are allowed to purchase Raw Cashew Nuts during the main harvesting season from January to June but export of RCN is permitted only after 31st May.
“Any raw cashew nuts that are brought to ports or borders of Ghana for export between 31st March and 31st May, 2016 shall be confiscated to the state.
“The Public is hereby obliged to take note and comply with this directive,” the statement said.
It said it had been noted with concern that as much as 95 per cent of Ghana’s total production of cashew nuts estimated at 68,000 metric tonnes (MT) was exported in its raw form to overseas for processing.
It said processing of RCN into cashew kernels in Ghana increased from 4,250MT to 17,600MT 2009 but that had plummeted reaching a very low figure of 2,500MT in 2015.
According to the statement, it implied that the industry was operating at just five per cent of its installed processing capacity of 65,890MT.
It said local processors were unable to obtain adequate supplies of raw materials for processing due to intensive competition with purchases from traders at the farm gate.
“This situation is stifling the Ministry’s objectives of promoting value addition under the National Export Development Programme (NEDP) 2016-2020 which seeks to increase earnings from the Non-Traditional Export (NTE) sector.
“The survival of the industry which is processing cashew in Ghana is on the brink of collapse and will only survive on the availability of adequate supply of the raw material,” it stated.
Source: GNA