The president of the Association of Cashew Processors, Ghana (ACPG), has toured cashew processing factories across the country’s Middle Belt to engage stakeholders and craft strategies aimed at strengthening Ghana’s cashew value chain.

Antonio Manuel Caramelo Raposo's tour, which covered Techiman, Sunyani, and the surrounding areas, brought the ACPG President face-to-face with processors, workers, and community leaders.

The interactions, he said, revealed both the vast potential of Ghana’s cashew sector and the weighty challenges undermining local processing.

Among the key obstacles identified were the unreliable supply of raw cashew nuts (RCN), price volatility, and high operational costs driven by limited access to spare parts, chemicals, and packaging materials.

Processors also cited inadequate financing, stiff competition from raw nut exports, low adoption of modern processing technology, and expensive international certification requirements as barriers to growth.

The ACPG President warned that these issues are eroding Ghana’s value addition agenda and weakening processors’ competitiveness.

“This tour has given us firsthand insight into the pressing needs of our members. ACPG will continue to work with government, farmers, and development partners to ensure processors receive the support required to increase capacity and sustain jobs in Ghana,” he said.

He stressed that the Association’s newly developed Cashew Framework will drive interventions to secure raw materials, improve processing standards, and expand both domestic and international markets.

ACPG has set an ambitious target of processing 85,000 metric tons of cashew annually by 2026.

According to Mr. Raposo, achieving this goal will create thousands of jobs, boost farmer incomes, and strengthen Ghana’s standing in the global cashew industry.

The tour marks a significant step in ACPG’s renewed push to transform Ghana’s cashew sector from a raw nut export-led trade into a competitive processing hub with sustainable economic impact.