Government commits US $47 million to reviving the cashew sector

The Mozambican government announced on Thursday it would invest about US $47 million to revive its moribund cashew nut sector, once a top export commodity and a major source of employment, LUSA reported on Friday. To discuss the sector´s relaunching after years of neglect, a meeting of representatives of three ministries and entrepreneurs has taken place in the northern city of Nampula. The government aims to recoup productive capacity, which is now at 50,000 mt annually, down from 200,000 mt during the 1980s. The programme also aims to revive Mozambique´s cashew nut processing factories, today largely closed due to the country´s long civil war and a World Bank “recommendation” that liberalised the market. The move led to the export of most cashew nuts as raw material, primarily to India. In 1987, the sector represented 31 percent of Mozambique´s export earnings. At one time, the sector employed about 25 percent of the country´s work force.