Ministry of Trade temporarily withdraws directive on raw cashew exports

The Ministry of Trade and Industry said it has temporarily withdrawn the administrative directive for the exportation of Raw Cashew Nut (RCN).

It said the Ministry was however taking steps to ensure that the development of the cashew industry was accomplished through a comprehensive and inclusive process.

An official statement signed by the Minister, Mr Ekow Spio-Garbrah, said the Ministry would widen its consultations with stakeholders to ensure that the cashew industry becamecompetitive in a broad-based manner that would lead to job creation and the general well-being of all stakeholders.

“Among the issues informing the withdrawal include, the view that the timing for the implementation of the directive would be best when traders or agents who have purchased RCN for exports would not have challenges with warehousing cost, deterioration in quality and the loss in weight of RCN.

The rest include “acceptance of the view that ideally the directive should have been issued at the beginning of the year to enable farmers, agents and traders plan for the management of the impact, and the challenge of managing the transit through Ghana from Burkina Faso of RCN for export though Ghanaian ports,” it said.

The statement said meanwhile, in order to bring some order into the cashew industry in the medium to long term, the Ministry would in consultation with all stakeholders in particular the Cashew Industry Association of Ghana (CIAG) put in place measures to support the National Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) to enable them purchase the Raw Cashew Nuts (RCN) and establish a “Just-in-Time” inventory to ensure that the indigenous processors have an all-year-round supply of RCN.

“We will initiate discussions concerning establishment of a credit scheme for cashew farmers, assist indigenous processors to purchase the RCN, examine the merits of the setting up of the Ghana Cashew Management Board to license, supervise and monitor all activities in the cashew value chain, work with stakeholders to propose and implement a l8-year cashew development plan for Ghana,” it added.

That, the Ministry said, would seek to ensure the development and expansion of the cashew industry and also increase the country’s production to at least 200,000 metric tonnes by the 2025.

Source: GNA