An advocacy group in Ghana has sounded the alarm over a 20 per cent reduction in the floor price of raw cashew nuts for the 2025/2026 season, warning the move could undermine the livelihoods of thousands of smallholder farmers who depend on the crop for income.

The Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) announced in December 2025 a new floor price of GH¢12 per kilogram, down from GH¢15 in 2024. The decrease reflects shifts in global market conditions and a prevailing Free On Board (FOB) price of US$1,400 per metric tonne, the authority said. Under its pricing formula the indicative price was calculated at GH¢11.16 per kilogram, but was rounded up to GH¢12.

Cashew Watch Ghana (CWG), an advocacy organisation, said the reduction comes as farmers already face rising costs of production, climate-related challenges and limited access to affordable financing — factors that strain rural incomes and heighten vulnerability to debt. Many growers had invested heavily in farm maintenance and post-harvest handling on expectations of stable or improved returns.

“Any significant drop in prices will worsen poverty levels and undermine ongoing efforts to promote decent livelihoods among cashew-producing communities,” CWG said in a statement signed by Simon Asore, Steering Committee Chairman.

Ghana is a significant cashew producer in West Africa, with production estimated at about 200,000 metric tonnes of raw cashew nuts (RCN) in recent seasons and export income of roughly US$300 million in 2023, largely from shipments to major processors in India and Vietnam. More than 200,000 farmers depend on the crop for their livelihoods in regions including Bono, Bono East and Savanna.

Despite its size, the bulk of Ghana’s output is unprocessed: less than 10 per cent of RCN is transformed into kernels locally, leaving farmers exposed to global price swings and weak bargaining power.

CWG urged the TCDA, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and other stakeholders to reassess pricing mechanisms, including the introduction of an annual fixed minimum producer price for raw cashew nuts. The group also called for stronger regulation of middle-men practices and expanded support for domestic processing, which it said would reduce overreliance on raw exports and help stabilize prices and create more jobs.

“The cashew sector remains a critical source of income for rural households, particularly in the Bono, Bono East, Northern and Savannah regions,” the group said, urging greater engagement with farmer groups and private sector actors ahead of the buying season to ensure transparency, fairness and price stability.

Meanwhile, cashew cooperative leaders have also echoed the call for a more favourable price. Daniel Munufie, Bono Regional Chairman of the Cashew Farmers Cooperative, said farmers had expected a better floor price than GH¢12 and that costs of labour and farm maintenance were “at an all-time high”.

“If nothing at all, the TCDA should have maintained the GH¢15,” Munufie said. “Any reduction in income would erode profits and further compound the already precarious livelihoods of us, the primary producers.”

Ghana’s cashew industry has been identified by government and industry stakeholders as a key non-traditional export crop with potential to contribute more than US$660 million in annual revenue if processing capacity, regulation and market structures are strengthened.

Link:https://investmenttimesonline.com/2026/01/26/cashew-price-cut-sparks-con...