Nigeria’s cashew industry has recorded remarkable growth, generating over $446.9 million (about N635 billion) in 2025, according to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NEPC, Mrs Nonye Ayeni, disclosed this at the Nigeria Cashew Day Conference in Abuja.
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She said cashew has risen to become Nigeria’s third leading non-oil export product, underscoring its growing importance in the country’s export portfolio.
Ayeni explained that cashew export value jumped from $219.7 million in the first half of 2024 to $398.1 million in the first half of 2025, with total exports for the year reaching 384,814 metric tonnes valued at $446.9 million.
“This shows the transformation taking place in the sector. Cashew is now a critical driver of Nigeria’s non-oil export landscape,” she said.
Despite Nigeria’s position as one of Africa’s top producers, stakeholders lamented that over 90 per cent of the country’s cashew is exported in raw form, leaving value addition, job creation and premium pricing to processors in Vietnam, India and Brazil.
Speaking on behalf of the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, Mrs Weyinmi Eribo said the bank was targeting the cultivation of one million hectares of economic tree crops, including cashew, to boost agricultural transformation and climate resilience.
“Cashew is more than a crop. It is a comprehensive value chain waiting to be fully activated. Investment in domestic processing capacity is not optional; it is essential,” she said, urging investors to establish processing plants and aggregation hubs.
Dr Dele Adiniyi of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria noted that the institute has developed at least 15 cashew-based products and by-products, awaiting entrepreneurs to commercialise them.
“These innovations can expand cashew’s impact on the Nigerian economy if taken up by investors,” he said.
National President of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria, Dr Ojo Joseph Ajanaku, said the association was working to restore Nigeria’s position as the world’s leading cashew producer.
“We have the land, weather and all it takes to reclaim the number one spot globally,” he said.
He, however, raised concerns about foreigners exporting cashew without completing Nigeria’s export precede forms, thereby avoiding repatriation of proceeds.
 in 2025, according to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).){kind=link}