(Ecofin Agency) - Two months after the start of cashew trading season, Cote d’Ivoire has already ceased 15,000 tons of cashew nuts on its way to Ghana via contraband. These movements are representative of a persisting phenomenon to which Cote d’Ivoire lost about a quarter of its production during the 2012 season.

Despite authorities implementing various measures to halt it, the illegal trading of the nut is fueled by prices in Ghana. “While farmer spends up to CFA600,000 to transport its ouptput to the Abidjan port, he spends only CFA150,000 to send equivalent volume to Ghana. Moreover the kilogram of cashew varies between CFA400 and CFA500 in Ghana against CFA250 and CFA350 in Abidjan,” a specialist told Xinhua.

Thus, though government announced a collar price of CFA350, the problem is only partially solved given the configuration of Ghana’s cashew industry. Producers in Ghana, where production is around 65,000 tons, prefer exporting their output to supplying local processing units. Therefore, to keep running, they must apply same prices as exporters or turn to Cote d’Ivoire, despite the latter prohibiting cashew exports by land since 2013.

It must be highlighted that a substantial portion of illegally traded cashew passes through Bondoukou in Cote d’Ivoire which happens to be one of the main cashew production areas of the country.

Aaron Akinocho