The Almond Institute of Mozambique (IAM) said that under the new regulations, the sale of cashew nuts throughout the country is prohibited before the official start date of the 2024-25 agricultural marketing year, emphasising that the measure aims to increase the quantity and improve the quality of the product.
The organisation, quoted by the newspaper Noticias, stressed that the government has already approved the reference price for buying cashew nuts from the producer, stressing that it will cost 45 meticais per kilo in the next campaign to be launched soon.
‘The reference price will be updated whenever there is a significant fluctuation in the international market. In this context, trade and industry associations should collaborate with local and community administrative authorities in publicising and complying with marketing procedures,’ he said.
The IAM also made it known that the prices to be charged by interested parties at secondary level will be established according to the quality of the product and by mutual agreement between the parties involved, using the producer’s reference price list as a basis for negotiation.
‘Commercialisation is carried out in the form of transactions by an agent duly registered with the IAM or by registered local administrative authorities,’ he said.
In August, the Bank of Mozambique (BdM) revealed that cashew nut exports fell by 32.6 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, standing at 2.1 billion meticais (34.3 million dollars).
In its quarterly balance of payments report, the entity added that this significant drop was mainly due to unfavourable weather conditions, namely the occurrence of cyclones and heavy rains, which affected the provinces of Gaza, Inhambane, Manica and Sofala during the months of December (2023), January, February and March (2024).
‘Analysing the data for the first quarters of 2022 and 2023 revealed a variable performance of cashew nut exports. In the first quarter of 2022, exports of this product totalled approximately 2.5 billion meticais. In the same period of 2023, there was a significant increase, with exports totalling around 3.4 billion meticais,’ he said.
India continues to be the main destination for Mozambican cashew nut exports, along with other products such as natural gas, mineral coal and dried or grain pod vegetables. In 2023, the Asian country imported goods worth 20.9 billion meticais, ranking first as the main destination for Mozambique’s exports, with a weight of 18.8 per cent in total exports.
