• Robust International invests CFA15 billion ($26.99 million) in new factory

• Plant can process 37,440 tons of raw cashew nuts per year in Kpouèbo

• Industry aims to process about 50% of national cashew output in 2025

Côte d’Ivoire’s Prime Minister Robert Beugré inaugurated on September 22 a new cashew processing plant in Oussou, Kpouèbo sub-prefecture. The project, backed by Singapore-based commodity trader Robust International, represents an investment of CFA15 billion ($26.99 million).

The facility, built on a six-hectare site, has a processing capacity of 120 tons of raw nuts per day, or 37,440 tons annually. It will produce cashew kernels and cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL). The investment is expected to further strengthen Côte d’Ivoire’s fast-growing cashew industry.

According to the Cotton, Cashew and Shea Council (CCA-K), processors had already purchased 650,000 tons of raw nuts by May 2025, 62% above the initial target of 400,000 tons set at the start of the season.

This momentum could allow the sector to process about 50% of Côte d’Ivoire’s cashew output locally this year. For the 2025 campaign, the country expects a harvest of 1.5 million tons.