Maputo, Mozambique, 5 June – Cashew nut production in Mozambique in the last season totalled 95,000 tonnes, which was higher than the target of 85,000 tonnes, the director of the national cashew institute (INCAJU), Filomena Maiópuè said in Maputo.

Speaking to Mozambican newspaper Notícias, Maiópuè said that production in the 2007/2008 season had been “very good and was na indication that the crop is recovering, after several years of decline, thanks to the efforts being made for that.”

Of the 95,000 tonnes produced, 32,000 were exported in a raw state, mainly to the Indian market, and the remainder is expected to be processed domestically.

For the 2008/2009 production of 95,000 tonnes is projected, but Maiópuè said she was convinced that that amount would be exceeded, “due to all the preparatory work being carried out by Incaju and by producers, including the private sector.”

She also said that in some districts of Nampula province, the biggest cashew producing area in Mozambique, the cashew trees were already being treated for disease and awareness raised amongst the population about the need to manage the plantations.

Maiòpuè also announced construction, also in Nampula, of a new factory, with the capacity to process 7,000 tonnes of cashews per year and potentially employ 2,000 people. (macauhub)