The document discusses opportunities for developing country suppliers to export cashew nuts to Europe. It notes that the Netherlands, Germany, UK, and growing Central and Eastern European markets offer opportunities. It states that food safety certification supported by frequent testing and social responsibility standards can provide advantages in European markets.

1. Exporting cashew nuts to Europe
European cashew nuts imports are increasing, driven by the health trend. The Netherlands,
Germany, United Kingdom and the growing markets in Central and Eastern Europe offer
opportunities for developing country suppliers. Food safety certification supported with frequent
laboratory tests and joined with corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards can provide a great
advantage to European markets suppliers.
Contents of this page
Product description1.
Which European markets offer opportunities for exporters of cashew nuts?2.
Which trends offer opportunities on the European market for cashew nuts?3.
With which requirements should cashew nuts comply to be allowed on the European4.
market?
What competition will I be facing on the European cashew nuts market?5.
Which channels can you use to put cashew nuts on the European market?6.
What are the end-market prices for cashew nuts on the European market?7.
1 . Product description
Product definition
Cashew nuts are the kidney-shaped seeds that adhere to the bottom of the cashew apple, the fruit
of the cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale). The nut itself is protected by a very strong shell that
needs to be roasted/steamed before it can be shelled. The edible part is the cashew nut kernel
which is obtained after shelling. The kernel represents only around 20% of the whole cashew nut in
weight.
The cashew is native to north-east Brazil but today it is grown in many areas in the world. India and
Vietnam are the two largest single growers of cashew nuts, and the main suppliers of the world and
European market. The processing capacity in these two countries exceeds the crop and therefore
they both import a lot of raw material from outside growing areas, like Africa. Raw nuts are then
processed in India and Vietnam and exported as Indian or Vietnamese kernels. India processes
around 1.59 million tonnes of cashew nuts every year though it produces only around half of the
quantity that it processes. Vietnam processes around 0.90 million tonnes of cashews nuts every
year.
Another major player is Brazil, with the USA as its main export destination, mainly due to the short
voyage time and the growing need to have just-in-time deliveries and lower stocks. Brazil processes
around 0.30 million tonnes.
Cashew nuts are also grown in Indonesia, East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique) and West
Africa (Benin, Guinea Bissau and Ivory Coast, Nigeria and some smaller producing countries).

2. Cashew nut kernels are mainly used on the European market as a roasted and salted snack. In
recent time cashew nut has also become interesting to industrial users and is as such used for
cookies and cereals, and is also promoted as a topping on ice cream.
This study covers general information regarding the market of shelled cashew nuts in Europe which
is of interest to producers in developing countries. Please see Table 1 with the products and their
product codes.
Table 1: Products in the product group of cashew nuts
Combined Nomenclature Number Product
08013200 Fresh or dried cashew nuts, shelled
08013100 Fresh or dried cashew nuts, in shell
Product specification
Quality
The basic quality requirements for cashew-nut kernels are defined by the following criteria.
Style: whole (kernels with no more than 1/8 of the kernel broken off are considered as whole),
broken (butts, splits and pieces)
Presence of insects, mould, rancidity, spots or blemishes
Taste and flavour
Specific cashew-nut quality requirements are defined by the following criteria.
Class – Classification of cashew nuts is not officially defined in the European Union. However the
classification by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is widely used,
where cashew nuts are classified into three main classes: ‘Extra Class’, ‘Class I’ and ‘Class II’.
This classification is made according to the allowed defects and the colour of the kernel skin.
The main producing countries India, Brazil and Vietnam also have a classification.
Grading – Grading categories for cashew nuts are not officially defined in the European Union.
The most frequently used grading classification comes from UNECE and is also correspondent to
the United States cashew nuts standards. In this standard, grades are defined by the number of
cashew nuts in one pound (0.454 kg) or in one kilogram (for example 210 per pound equals 465
per kilogram).
Special characteristics – In practice quality and price of product is usually determined by the
characteristics of cashew nuts which combine style of the product (whole, splits or pieces) with
grade and look of the skin. The skin may be white, or to some degree scorched (darkened during
the process of roasting shells before taking kernels out of the shells).
Tip:
For quality requirements for cashew nuts refer to the UNECE standards.
Labelling
The name of the product must be shown on the label, and read either ‘cashew nuts kernels’ or
‘cashew nuts’. Other trade names regarding form can be used in addition to ‘cashew nuts kernels’.
It is common that export packaging labelling also includes the crop year.

3. Information about non-retail packaging has to be given either on the packaging or in accompanying
documents. Bulk packaging labelling must contain the following information:
name of the product
lot identification
name and address of the manufacturer, packer, distributor or importer
storage instructions (storage and transport instructions are very important due to high oil
content which can negatively influence the quality of product if not handled properly).
However, lot identification, and the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, distributor or
importer may be replaced by an identification mark.
In the case of retail packaging, product labelling must be in compliance with the European Union
Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers. This regulation defines nutrition
labelling, origin labelling, allergen labelling and legibility (minimum font size for mandatory
information) more clearly.
This regulation came into effect on 13 December 2014 but the obligation to provide nutrition
information applies from 13 December 2016. Please note that according to this regulation, cashew
nuts are listed as products causing allergies or intolerances and therefore allergen advice must be
clearly visible on the retail packaging (see Picture 6).
Packaging
There is no general rule for the export size of the packaging of cashew nuts, but the most common
type of export packaging is polysacks (10–25 kg). Cashew nuts are also packaged in such things as
boxes or cartons containing two sealed tinplate canisters to protect the product from autoxidation.
Tip:
For more information about labelling and food contact materials, see our study about
buyer requirements for processed fruit and vegetables.
2 . Which European markets offer opportunities for exporters of
cashew nuts?
The Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom are currently the largest import markets and
they offer good opportunities for developing countries exporters of cashew nuts. Furthermore,
large markets opportunities can be found in the growing markets of Central and Eastern Europe.
Imports
Increasing imports from developing countries
In the long term, the European market for cashew nuts is expected to grow steadily. This growth
is likely to be driven by changes in consumption patterns of European consumers including
rising demand for vegetable sources of protein to replace meat.
Regular fluctuations in imports will continue to be influenced by the harvested crops rather than
changes in demand.
European imports of cashew nuts into Europe increased annually by an average rate of 17% in
value in the last five years and reached €1.3 billion.
Intra-European imports of cashew nuts represent only 16% of total import value. However, intra-
European imports are growing at a faster rate than imports from developing countries.
In 2016, the import volume of cashew nuts reached 180 thousand tonnes. Of this, nearly all (over
99%) concerned shelled cashew nuts. The import of in-shell cashew nuts is insignificant.

4. Netherlands and Germany leading importers
The European import market for cashew nuts is very concentrated and the two largest importers
(the Netherlands and Germany) accounted for more than 50% of total imports. Both countries
are big consumers of cashew nuts and they are also transit countries for other European
destinations.
Large shares of cashew nuts are re-exported from the Netherlands to other European countries
(around 34 thousand tonnes). These imports often arrive through Rotterdam. Other important
ports for cashew nuts are Hamburg in Germany and Felixstowe and Tilbury in the United
Kingdom.
Central and Eastern European countries are increasing imports of cashew nuts faster than
Western Europe. Within Europe, the countries with the highest annual import growth in quantity
of cashew nuts in the last five years were Poland (40%), Slovenia (39%), Croatia (37%) and
Lithuania.
Examples of cashew nuts importers are Amberwood Trading, Global Trading and Voicevale.

5. Vietnam and India the leading suppliers
The leading developing country supplier of cashew nuts to Europe is Vietnam, followed by India.
The Netherlands is the third largest supplier of re-exported cashews. In 2016, Vietnam reached
its highest ever export value of cashew nuts to Europe at €726 million, which was almost €150
million more than in the previous year. However, Indonesia and Côte d'Ivoire are also increasing
their share of the European market thanks to the high annual growth rate of almost 50% in the
past five years, but this is from a very small base. These countries still export most of their
cashews in shell to India and Vietnam for processing.
Only 10% of African raw cashew nuts is processed (shelled) locally. The vast majority is exported
in shell to one of the world’s main hubs for cashew shelling: India and Vietnam, and to a much
smaller extent to Brazil.
India was the main shelling country for cashew nuts for decades (since the 1970s at least),
whereas Vietnam has stepped into this business in the last decade. Many attempts have been
made to revert this pattern and increase the share of cashew nuts shelled locally, often with
support from development aid, aiming to increase the value of Africa’s cashew exports.
Unfortunately, the efforts have had limited success.
India especially has important advantages compared to African shellers, in particular a strong
domestic market, where the lower grades are readily accepted, thus increasing the overall sales
value. Africa does not have such a big domestic market and the lower grades (broken, scorched,
smaller grades) are less in demand in Europe as well. Secondly, there is a very competitive
environment for cashew shelling and long experience, which lead to great efficiency and very
high outturn ratios of whole nuts.
While labour costs are increasing in some states of India (especially on the west coast), the
industry is adapting by moving the shelling process to the states with cheaper labour in the east.
With Vietnam now on the scene – the country with the highest productivity of cashew farms in
the world – the competition in the shelling market has increased even further.
A presentation by Mr Sunil Dahiya at the African Cashew Alliance Conference of 2016 illustrates
above points by showing how the Indian sales mix attracts a 25% premium compared to a
discount in their sales mix for African countries of −12% to −20%, depending on the country. As
for production costs, the Vietnamese and Indian cashews have a net cost of USD 217 and USD
254 per tonne, whereas the African range is USD 309 to USD 704 per tonne. So anyone

6. considering a project in Africa must find an answer to these challenges.
Despite this competitive gap between African and Asian cashew shellers, Africa is expected to
remain a major producer. Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Brazilian and European companies are
investigating and investing in medium and large-scale processing units in the major African
production areas. Whether these initiatives succeed or not, Africa is still expected to remain a
major cashew growing locality and to increase its share.
Among the leading 20 cashew nuts external suppliers to Europe the most significant annual
export growth in the last five years was seen in Peru (117% annual growth), Côte d'Ivoire (49%),
Indonesia (46%) and China (45%), but each from a very small base.
Tips:
Identify who the biggest importers of your product are in selected large or fast-growing
markets. You can start by searching the internet or reading more about supply chains in
Europe in our study on market channels and segments for edible nuts and dried fruit.
Besides aiming to export to the Netherlands, which is the largest European supplier,
consider countries that are facing growth in imports such as south-eastern European and
Central European countries. However, by finding a reliable trading partner in the
Netherlands you can supply all of Europe from one point.
Learn from developing countries exporters who are increasing their share of the European
market, such as ones from Indonesia or African countries. Information about the cashew
nut industry and export strategies of fast-growing countries can be found on websites of
their sectoral associations (for example Vietnam Cashew Nut Association or Cashew
Export Promotion Council of India) as well as via main market information portals such as
FoodNews.
Invest in mechanised processing in order to add value to your product and to increase
chances of supplying European countries directly, rather than through major processing
countries.

7. Identify who the biggest importers of your product are in selected large or fast-growing markets.
You can start by searching the internet or reading more about supply chains in Europe in our
study on market channels and segments for edible nuts and dried fruit.
Besides aiming to export to the Netherlands, which is the largest European supplier, consider
countries that are facing growth in imports such as south-eastern European and Central
European countries. However, by finding a reliable trading partner in the Netherlands you can
supply all of Europe from one point.
Learn from developing countries exporters who are increasing their share of the European
market, such as ones from Indonesia or African countries. Information about the cashew nut
industry and export strategies of fast-growing countries can be found on websites of their
sectoral associations (for example Vietnam Cashew Nut Association or Cashew Export Promotion
Council of India) as well as via main market information portals such as FoodNews.
Invest in mechanised processing in order to add value to your product and to increase chances
of supplying European countries directly, rather than through major processing countries.
Switzerland the main external export destination
The main European Union external export destination for cashew nuts in 2016 was Switzerland,
followed by Norway, Belarus and the USA.
In the range of the largest European export destinations, the highest annual increase of cashew
nut exports from the European Union in the last five years was to Vietnam (417%), Israel (264%)
and Hong Kong (96%).
Tips:
Besides targeting your export to the Netherlands, you can also learn from Dutch exporters
and their target markets within Europe. The main Dutch export target markets for cashew
nuts within Europe are Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and Poland.
However, serving packers directly requires a different set of capabilities than simply
exporting to traders, including the ability to deliver smaller quantities to the warehouse of
the client and meeting all necessary quality standards.
You can also find opportunities in growing markets for cashew nuts supplied by European
traders and processors, such as Israel or Hong Kong.

8. Learn more about your competitors in our study on competition in edible nuts and dried
fruit.
Production
Processing of cashew nuts in Europe is increasing
Due to climate conditions, raw cashew nuts cannot be produced in Europe and must therefore be
imported. However, cashew nuts are often processed in the Netherlands or in another European
country by blanching, roasting, salting and spicing.
Processing of cashew nuts in Europe is increasing driven by the increased consumption of all
tree nuts which are considered a healthy source of protein.
Production (processing) country leaders include Intersnack (Germany based), Borges (Spain),
Bosch Boden Spies (Germany) and Seeberger (Germany).
Note that the figures above are for the production of manufactured goods, which includes
intermediate goods as well as final goods. This implies that it is possible that there is an overlap in
production data and import data, since raw materials may be imported and further processed.
Ivory Coast increasing production
Global production of cashew nuts in the 2016/17 season reached 754,700 metric tonnes, an
increase of 30 thousand tonnes (4%) from the previous season. The main producing cashew
country in 2016/17 was Côte d’Ivoire with 167,000 metric tons of cashew kernels (22%),
followed by India with 160,000 MT (21%) and Vietnam with 96,000 MT (13%).
In the current season, West African countries (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana) produced 15%
below the previous season, although for the next season an increase of 15–30% is expected
compared to the current season. The estimated crop for Vietnam and India is expected to be
higher than in the previous season.
There is an important flow of in-shell cashew nuts from African producing countries mainly to

9. India and Vietnam, to be processed there. In 2015, Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania were the main in-
shell exporters to the processing countries.
The two largest West African producers of cashews, Ivory Coast and Nigeria, may move steps
forward towards increasing their output in the near future. The new high-yielding cashew
varieties developed by the National Agricultural Research Centre of Ivory Coast, the Polytechnic
Institute in Yamoussoukro and the Ivorian Cotton and Cashew Board should enable the country
to shift from extensive to intensive cashew cultivation. The Ivorian government has stated its
plan to become the world leading cashews producer.
Cambodia seems to be expanding its cashew-nut cropping areas quickly and is currently
becoming an important supplier for Vietnam.
Tip:
Consider supplying European cashew nut processors. Processors need regular supply and
they can be ready for long-term cooperation if your product fulfils their specifications.
Consumption
In terms of value, apparent consumption of edible nuts in Europe is increasing by an average
annual rate of 12%, although there was a decrease in consumption value in 2016 compared to
2015.
The largest increase in the consumption value of nuts was in Romania, where value increased
from €15 million in 2012 to €54 million in 2016.
The largest European consumer of cashew nuts in Europe is Germany, which had a total
consumption of 23,810 tonnes and estimated consumption of 1.18 kg of cashew nuts per capita
in 2015. However, the Netherlands is the largest European consumer of cashew nuts per capita,
at 1.74 kg. Other major consuming countries are the United Kingdom (with a total consumption
of 19,800 tonnes), France (10,400 tonnes) and Italy (6,700 tonnes).
Cashew-nut consumption as a snack is seasonal in Europe and in winter months it reaches a
peak, with consumption then falling towards the summer. The winter cashew-nut consumption
peak is connected with the Christmas and New Year holidays in European countries.
The outlook for the consumption of cashew nuts in Europe is positive, with stable growth
expected. A driving factor in this expected growth is an increased interest in healthy eating, as
cashew nuts are a source of protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals and unsaturated fats. They are
considered a source of unsaturated fats that benefit the heart, and a good source of zinc, copper,
iron and magnesium.
Cashew nuts belong to the more premium segment of nut snacks and reach much higher prices
than, for instance, peanuts.

10. Tip:
Check the website of International Nut and Dried Fruit Council for the cashew nuts annual
global production, export, import and consumption data.
3 . Which trends offer opportunities on the European market for
cashew nuts?
Consumer demand for vegan, gluten-free and natural food offers opportunities for exporters from
developing countries.
Food safety certification supported by frequent laboratory tests, together with adherence to
corporate social responsibility standards can also be a great advantage to European markets
suppliers.
Specific trends for cashew nuts:
Nuts, including cashew nuts, enjoy a good reputation among European consumers. Consumption
of nuts is expected to have the highest growth in the snack segment. In major cashew-nut
consuming countries, cashew nuts are considered a healthier alternative to other savoury snacks
such as crisps and extruded snacks, but also to be more beneficial to health than peanuts.
Developing country exporters can join forces with European traders and finance medical
research proving the health benefits of cashew-nut consumption. A clear and easy to understand
health message is important to help customers include cashew nuts in their diet.
Among the factors driving the increasing consumption of cashew nuts are the celebrity chefs
who increasingly use them as an ingredient on their culinary television shows.
Flavoured cashew nuts and additional coatings are also gaining in popularity. Among the top
trending flavours are hot flavours such as ‘hot chilly’ or ‘jalapeno’. Exotic salty flavours such as
Tamari roasted cashew nuts are also being introduced. Beside new flavours, manufacturers are

11. introducing new types of coatings.
Cashew nuts are also becoming an ingredient in various healthy food and functional food
products, such as breakfast cereals (e.g. ‘Qnola’ and ‘Paleofood’), cashew nut butter (e.g.
‘Pip&Nut’) and chocolate products with cashew nuts (e.g. ‘Squirrel Sisters’).
Forecasts
Over the past few years, cashew consumption has also grown due to use as substitute to
almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios, as these were in short supply and therefore more expensive.
In the long term a stable increase of consumption of cashew nuts is expected in the European
markets. This trend is driven by the increasing consumer awareness of the nutritional value of
cashew nuts.
The highest rate of the increase in cashew-nut consumption in Europe is expected in Central and
eastern European countries.
In the long term diversification of imports from Asian countries and Brazil can be expected.
Import is expected to shift toward African countries. However this shift cannot happen very
quickly as African countries still need to invest a lot in processing capacity in order to supply
European buyers more quickly.
Consumption in Far East countries such as China and India is expected to increase, giving more
market alternatives for developing country exporters.
It is expected that more new investments in processing capacity will take place in all production
countries, but especially in African countries. Investors are interested because of good cashew
prices in the previous years, yielding higher profits than other commodity crops.
It is possible that the import market of cashew nuts will become more concentrated due to
strategic partnership relations and potential joint ventures between leading suppliers and
leading buyers. It is still not been publically announced but there is indication that one such
partnership will take place between leading European snack trader Intersnack and Rajkumar
Impex Private Limited, which is one of the leading cashew processing companies in India and
Vietnam.
The United Kingdom’s intended withdrawal from the European Union (the so-called Brexit) can
have different consequences regarding predictions for the cashew nuts trade. The British Prime
Minister has announced that the Brexit will take place no sooner than 2019. Negotiations
between the United Kingdom and the European Union are still to begin. In the short term, no
significant changes are expected apart from the weaker pound. In the long term, consumers in
the United Kingdom will continue to consume cashew nuts and the volume of direct imports,
rather than through intermediaries, is likely to increase.
Tips:
Regular information about cashew nut crops, processing and the market situation can be
found on FoodNews, the leading European information service for processed fruit and
vegetables, and on International Trade Centre portal Market Insider.
Concerning cashew nuts, an extensive study about European market trends is already
available. See our study about trends for processed fruit and vegetables.
Compare your price offer of cashew nuts with hazelnuts and almonds. If cashew nut prices
increase too much compared to those of other tree nuts, there is a risk that consumers will
switch to other nuts because they believe that all types of tree nuts offer similar health
benefits.

12. 4 . With which requirements should cashew nuts comply to be
allowed on the European market?
In addition to the quality requirements mentioned in the product description, for the general
overview of the buyer requirements in the European Union please refer to our study about buyer
requirement for processed fruit and vegetables
Legal requirements
All foods, including cashew nuts, sold in the European Union must be safe. This applies to imported
products as well. Additives must be approved. Harmful contaminants, such as pesticide residues,
and excessive levels of mycotoxins or preservatives are banned. It should also be readily obvious
from the labelling whether a food contains allergens.
Food safety
The incidence of mycotoxins is smaller in cashew nuts than in other crops, such as groundnuts or
maize. Most, but not all, sources agree that aflatoxin is not an issue in cashew nut production
because their shells contain cardol which prevents the development of aflatoxins. However, cashew
nuts have to comply with the increasingly strict legislation regarding the maximum allowed levels
of contaminants.
The presence of very low levels of Salmonella and Escherichia coli in ready-to-eat or processed
foods including cashews is an important cause of foodborne illness. Tree nut handlers should
consider Salmonella and Escherichia coli as a major public health risk in their hazard analysis and
critical control points (HACCP) plans.
Four new pieces of legislation concerning various pesticide residues have been introduced in 2016.
Review your treatment practices in order to confirm that your cashew nut kernels will not contain
pesticide residues above the newly set limits.
Packaging requirements
Packaging used for cashew nuts must:
Protect the appearance, taste, flavour and quality characteristics of the product. Cashew nuts in
bags must not be stowed together with fibres or fibrous materials, either, since oil-impregnated
fibres accelerate self-heating processes and rancidity
Protect the product from bacteriological and other contamination (including contamination from
the packaging material itself); when container transport is used, damage due to moisture may
arise if the water content of the cargo is too high
Not pass on any odour, taste, colour or other foreign characteristics to the product; cashew nuts
are sensitive to unpleasant and/or pungent odours.
The safety of food contact materials must be evaluated and it must be ensured that there is no
migration of unsafe levels of chemical substances from the material to the food.
Labelling requirements
In December 2014, a new European Union Regulation on food labelling went into effect. The new
labelling legislation forbids misleading consumers. Moreover, claims that a food can prevent, treat
or cure a human disease may not be made.
Another change is allergens labelling, where allergens have to be highlighted in the list of
ingredients. Requirements regarding information on allergens now also cover non pre-packed foods
including those sold in restaurants and cafés. The list of allergens includes cashew nuts.
Nutrition information is now also mandatory for cashew nuts.
Common requirements and niche requirements
Food safety certification is often requested by European importers. The most common

13. certification schemes accepted on the European markets are IFS, FSSC22000 and BRC.
Environmental protection, organic and fair-trade certification schemes are becoming more and
more popular in Europe. In order to be labelled within the European Union with the EU organic
logo producers from developing countries must meet European organic farming requirements.
The European Union regulates both organic food and drink produced and/or processed within
Europe and organic goods from elsewhere (Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1235/2008 with
detailed rules concerning import of organic products from third countries).
Organic products can readily be imported from non-European countries whose rules on organic
production and control are equivalent to the European Union's – currently Argentina, Australia,
Canada, Costa Rica, India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Tunisia, Switzerland and the United States.
For all other non-European countries, importers can have their organic products certified for export
to the European Union by independent private control bodies approved by the European
Commission.
Tips:
Get food safety certification. However, check with the importers and experts if the food
safety certification company you have engaged is recognised by the European buyers.
Examples of the independent international accredited certification companies include SGS,
CIS, TÜV and Bureau Veritas.
Consult the EU Export Helpdesk where you can find European Union legislation for your
selected products under the corresponding codes.
For information on commonly requested standards, check the International Trade Centre's
Standards Map, an online tool which provides comprehensive information on over 210
voluntary sustainability standards and other similar initiatives covering matters such as
food.
Refer to Codex Alimentarius for practical guidelines that can support you in fulfilling
requirements on European food safety legislation. For cashew nuts consult the Code of
Hygienic Practice for Tree Nuts.
For an example of an independent certification programme aimed at environmental
protection and corporate social responsibility, see the Corporate Social Responsibility
page of Intersnack, a leading European company in the savoury snacks segment.
5 . What competition will I be facing on the European cashew nuts
market?
Cashew-nut products competition on the European market include all other types of edible nuts.
Major company competitors are from the primary producing countries such as Vietnam, India and
Brazil, but also from all other emerging cashew-nut producing countries.
For more information about competition on the European edible nuts market see our extensive
competition study.
6 . Which channels can you use to put cashew nuts on the European
market?
Many importers of cashew nuts are also packers and, in addition, conduct trading and wholesale
activities. After importation, products reach different segments of the market as described in Chart

14. 1.
In some cases, developing country exporters can also supply different segments directly, without
the importer as intermediary. However, in the majority of cases specialised importers (wholesalers)
serve the supply chain as the first entry point for cashew nuts from developing countries.
Leading European companies in the supply chain for cashew nuts include Amberwood Trading,
Global Trading & Agency, Bohemianut, Delinuts and Intersnack.
Chart 1: European market channels for cashew nuts, 2017
Tips:
Check the website of European Nut Association for contacts of various stakeholders in the
European supply chain of peanuts such as importers, trade, industry processors and
service providers.
For more information, see our extensive study about market channels and segments for
edible nuts and dried fruit. Also read our tips about doing business and finding buyers on
the European market for processed fruit and vegetables.
7 . What are the end-market prices for cashew nuts on the
European market?
An indication of margins according to final retail prices for cashew nuts is not very precise as the
entire sector has varying cashew nut product prices for various origins. Therefore, developing
country exporters only have a very rough general overview of the price development.
When this report was being written (August 2017), offers were the following:
The bigger/first-class packers were still at price levels around USD 5.10 to USD 5.20 per lb
(pound = 454 gr) basis FOB for shipment during August/September.
Since the current quality of raw cashew nut arrivals is lower, prices may be expected to decrease
slightly to reflect the lower quality.
Roughly speaking, the Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) price of raw cashew nuts kernels
represents around 50% of the retail price of a retail package of cashew nuts. In cases when a final
retail product is sold directly to retail chains, the share is much higher.
Tip:
The best option to monitor prices is to compare your offer with the offer from the largest
competitors.
A very rough breakdown of the prices is shown in the table below:
Table 2: Cashew nuts retail price breakdown

15. Steps in export process Price margins
Farmers, traders and shipping 29%
Shelling and processing 16%
Shipping and warehousing 3%
Roasting, packing and distribution 22%
Retailers margin 30%
Source: Traidcraft (Cashing in on Cashews)
Please note that the share of the retail price which is paid to farmers varies a lot between
producing countries. It will also vary from year to year, depending on market conditions.
If the farmers add value to their produce through differentiated quality, food safety, certification
and processing steps, their prices will be higher. For example, organic and Fairtrade certification
and improved operations such as mechanised shelling may add value to the products.
Please review our market information disclaimer
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