• Cashew deliveries hit 208,000 tons mid-2025, up 18.6% from 2024

• Only 20% exported so far, hampered by smuggling and high taxes

• Cashews made up 93% of 2023 export revenue.
  

Guinea-Bissau has transported 208,833 tons of cashew nuts from production zones to the capital, Bissau, the country’s main port, as of mid-2025. This figure, announced by Director General of Foreign Trade Lassana Fati on June 26, reflects an 18.6% increase over the 176,000 tons moved during the same period in 2024.

The Ministry of Trade has issued 2,099 licenses to intermediaries and 500 evacuation permits to streamline operations. This strong mid-season performance puts the country on track to meet its export target of 200,000 tons set at the start of the campaign, buoyed by expectations of a bumper harvest.

According to estimates released on June 11 by the African Cashew Alliance, Guinea-Bissau’s 2025 cashew harvest could reach 260,000 tons, up 18.1% from the 220,000 tons harvested in 2024.

No specific details explained this optimistic outlook, but an early-season price hike likely played a key role. In March, the government raised the farmgate price of cashews by 17%, setting it at 410 CFA francs per kilogram, one of the highest rates in West Africa, above Benin (375 CFA) and Burkina Faso (385 CFA). “Prices started at 410 CFA francs per kilo, then rose to 500 and peaked between 550 and 560 CFA,” Fati noted.

Persistent Challenges

Despite the volume moved to port, only 40,000 tons, just 20% of the export target, have actually been shipped abroad so far. Structural challenges, particularly smuggling, continue to plague the sector. Authorities reported seizing 51 tons of smuggled cashews at the borders with Senegal and Guinea-Conakry during the first half of the campaign.

The World Bank, in its June 2025 Economics Update, highlights the country’s complex and burdensome tax system as a major constraint. “Although the government earns significant revenue from cashew taxation, high export taxes discourage investment in local processing and may lead to underreporting or smuggling,” the report warns.

The fiscal regime includes a 3% ad valorem tax on customs value for industrial contributions, a fixed 15 CFA per kilogram rural land contribution, and various export taxes that together account for 48% of the sector’s tax revenue. On top of that, administrative fees and port charges, often perceived as arbitrary, further deter investment and encourage illicit trade.

Cashew remains Guinea-Bissau’s top export commodity. According to BCEAO data, raw nut exports generated 132.8 billion CFA francs ($219.3 million) in 2023, accounting for 93% of the country's total export earnings.

This article was written in French by Stéphanas Assocle,

Edited in English by Mouka Mezonlin