The Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry has underscored the urgent need to transform cashew apples from farm waste into a viable industrial raw material, as part of efforts to deepen value addition and expand Ghana’s agro-processing sector.
Speaking at the opening of the Regional Cashew Apple Valorization Conference and Exhibition held on Thursday, April 30, 2026 in Accra, the Deputy Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Hon. Sampson Ahi, in a remarks on behalf of the Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, emphasized that Ghana must move beyond exporting raw cashew nuts and instead build a more integrated value chain that supports processing, branding and market access.
According to him, although the cashew sector has grown steadily and become a key contributor to Ghana’s non-traditional exports, a significant opportunity remains untapped in the utilization of the cashew apple, which is often left to waste on farms.
“The cashew apple should no longer be seen as waste, It should be treated as raw material for industry,” he said, highlighting its potential for producing juice, concentrates, animal feed, cosmetics and other industrial products.”
He stressed that the Ministry’s focus goes beyond production, placing priority on how agricultural outputs are processed, packaged and connected to both domestic and international markets. Weak linkages between agriculture, industry and trade, he noted, have historically limited Ghana’s ability to capture full value from its crops.
The conference, organized by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) with support from the Ghana Tree Crop Development Authority(TDA) and co-funded by the European Union, brought together policymakers, private sector actors, investors and development partners across Africa.
Hon. Ahi reiterated the government’s commitment to strengthening agro-industrial linkages, particularly through initiatives such as the Feed the Industry Programme, which seeks to ensure reliable raw material supply for processors while guaranteeing markets for farmers.
He further noted that Ghana currently processes only a small proportion of its raw cashew output locally, with much of it exported in raw for resulting in lost economic value that could otherwise be retained through domestic processing and manufacturing.
Speakers at the event included representative of the Minister for Food and Agriculture, the CEO of TDA, the European Union Delegation to Ghana and technical partners, all of whom echoed the need for stronger collaboration across the value chain.
Participants are expected to use the regional conference to develop practical solutions around collection, processing, financing and market access for cashew apple products, with a focus on moving from pilot initiatives to commercially viable enterprises.
ADVERTISEMENT
