Cashew

Tanzania's raw cashew production reached 528,263 tonnes in the 2024/2025 season, with 406,362 tonnes sold through the Tanzania Mercantile Exchange digital auction system for a total value of TZS 1.46 trillion.

Cashew nuts are among Tanzania's flagship traditional cash crops, anchoring rural livelihoods in the southern producing zones and contributing meaningfully to the country's agricultural export earnings.

Tanzania ranks second in Africa and sixth globally as a cashew producer, with strong export demand reinforced by expanding processing capacity and new market entries.

Production and Market Performance

Raw cashew production has seen massive growth, reaching 528,263 tonnes in the 2024/2025 season.

In that same season, a total of 406,362 tonnes of cashews were sold through the Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX) digital auction system.

The total value generated through the auction reached TZS 1.46 trillion in 2024/2025, reflecting the depth of formalized trading in the sector.

Tanzania is one of the world's leading cashew-producing countries, ranking second in Africa and sixth globally.

Cashew nut processing converts raw cashews into kernels, with the country also producing cashew nut shell liquid, a valuable byproduct widely used in industrial applications.

Export Markets and Trade

Cashew nuts are among the traditional cash crops driving Tanzania's foreign exchange earnings, with agriculture accounting for 23.6% of total goods exports in 2025^[1].

Tanzania continues to supply established traditional markets for cashew nuts, including the European Union—specifically Belgium, Poland, and Germany—the UAE, and Far East markets such as South Korea, Indonesia, and China.

The sector is simultaneously expanding into new markets, notably the United States, for cashew nuts.

Cashew nuts also feature among the commodities driving roughly 44% of Tanzania's exports to its top destinations of Switzerland, India, South Africa, China, and Kenya^[3].

Processing and Value Addition

Cashew nut processing is identified as a priority area within Tanzania's agro-industrialization push, as the country is among the world's leading producers, allowing expanded local processing and export of kernels.

The Government and cooperative unions are heavily investing in additional shelling capacity to convert a larger share of the raw crop into higher-value kernels domestically.

Beyond kernels, cashew nut shell liquid is produced as a valuable byproduct with widespread industrial applications, offering an additional value-addition stream.

Agro-processing facilities for cashews are explicitly listed among priority post-harvest investment areas, alongside cereals, oilseeds, sugar, coffee, dairy, and fish.

Policy Framework and Prioritization

Cashew is formally designated as a prioritized commodity under Tanzania's Agriculture Master Plan 2050, alongside cotton, sisal, coffee, maize, paddy, and other strategic crops.

To accelerate implementation of the Master Plan, the Ministry of Agriculture introduced the Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania initiative in 2025, building on the earlier Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania launched in 2010.

The corridor framework covers Tanzania's Central Zone, Southern Zone, Mtwara Zone, and Northern Zone, and is designed to strengthen production and productivity, improve market access, enhance capital access, and promote crop value addition.

Master Plan targets include lifting regional and international exports of prioritized commodities to USD 6 billion and increasing processing of specific commodities tenfold through warehouses and market linkages.

The broader corridor initiative targets a USD 100 billion agricultural GDP, USD 20 billion in net exports, and 10% annual sector growth by 2050.

Investment Opportunities

Cashew nuts are explicitly listed by the Ministry of Agriculture among the headline investment opportunities, alongside edible vegetable oilseeds, maize, rice, cassava, legumes, horticultural crops, sisal, cotton, and pyrethrum^[2].

Priority investment areas span commercial farming of strategic crops across the agricultural corridors and productive infrastructure such as irrigation systems and water harvesting facilities.

Post-harvest facilities, including pack houses, cold storage, and warehouses, are flagged as investment-ready segments directly relevant to the cashew value chain.

Agro-processing facilities for cashews are explicitly highlighted as priority investments, together with export facilitation through auctions, logistics, and crop hubs.

The supply and local manufacturing of farm inputs and machinery represent additional entry points for investors seeking to support the cashew value chain.

Sector Outlook

With raw production reaching 528,263 tonnes in 2024/2025 and formalized auction trade clearing TZS 1.46 trillion, cashew stands as one of Tanzania's most commercially mature traditional cash crops.

Expanded shelling capacity, driven by Government and cooperative union investment, points to a structural shift from raw exports toward higher-margin kernel exports.

The combination of established markets in the European Union, the UAE, and East Asia with new market entry in the United States diversifies the buyer base and reduces concentration risk.

Anchored by the Agriculture Master Plan 2050 and the Agriculture Growth Corridor framework, cashew is positioned to remain a core pillar of Tanzania's agricultural export strategy through the coming decade.

Last Update: May 2026

References

1. https://www.bot.go.tz/Publications/Regular/Quarterly%20Economic%20Bulletin/en/2026020820330341.pdf (Guide reference #66)
2. https://www.kilimo.go.tz/uploads/documents/sw-1747227277-Agriculture%20Annual%20Report%202023%20-%202024%20compressed.pdf (Guide reference #72)
3. https://www.viwanda.go.tz/uploads/documents/en-1722423611-National%20Trade%20Policy%202003%20Edition%202023_compressed.pdf (Guide reference #133)