Nigeria earns $400m from cashew exports in 2025

Nigeria’s cashew industry has earned over $400m in export trade deals in 2025 as farmers record bountiful harvests owing to favourable climate.

Although this revenue supports the country’s non-oil revenue, industry leaders say the sector has the capacity to deliver greater value through increased production, processing, and domestic consumption.

Sheriff Balogun, president of the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN), said this at the 4th Nigeria Cashew Day held recently in Abuja, noting that official data showed steady growth in non-oil exports, driven largely by agricultural commodities such as cashew.

“Based on official statistics, we see tremendous growth in non-oil exports in the development of Nigeria’s economy, from about $5 billion to $6.1 billion this year in exports,” he said.

Balogun noted that Nigeria was still operating below its full potential, especially in processing and value addition.

“And we can do more, because in about five years, with adequate planning, we should be able to move our production to about a million dollars. And we are processing just about 20-30 percent of what we are doing.”

Similarly, Ibrahim Sanfo, president of African Cashew Alliance, said Africa remained the world’s largest producer of cashew but consumed very little of what it produc