Cashew Index The world's cashew, indexed
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Cashews, mapped

The cashew supply chain is one of the most globalized in the food trade. Brazil gave the world the tree. West Africa grows most of the raw nut. Vietnam and India process most of the kernels. India consumes more cashews than any other country. Here's the global map — pick an origin to dig deeper.

The global cashew trade flow
Global cashew trade flow — producers, processors, consumers West African countries (Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Mozambique, Benin) produce most of the world's raw cashew nut (RCN). RCN ships east to India and Vietnam, the largest processors. Finished kernels then ship to the US, EU, UAE, and other consumer markets. India is both a major processor and the world's largest consumer. PRODUCERS West Africa grows the raw nut Ivory Coast #1 RCN producer Tanzania Mozambique Benin / Ghana / Nigeria RCN ≈$1,100/MT PROCESSORS Crack, peel, grade, pack Vietnam #1 processor, ~50% of kernels India #2 processor + #1 consumer Ivory Coast (emerging) Kernels W180–SWP CONSUMERS Retail, ingredient, HoReCa United States European Union UAE / Middle East India (domestic) #1 consumer globally

Cashews travel further than almost any food commodity. Most of the world's nuts are grown in West Africa, processed in Vietnam and India, then re-exported to Western markets — a triangle trade that defines the industry's economics.

India

Live

World's #2 processor + #1 consumer

Regions: Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra

Specialties: W240, W320, organic, gift-pack

Harvest: Feb–May

Vietnam

Live

World's #1 processor

Regions: Bình Phước, Đồng Nai, Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu

Specialties: W320, W240, export-grade kernels, large-scale processing

Harvest: Feb–May

Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)

Live

World's #1 RCN producer

Regions: Bouaké, Korhogo, Bondoukou

Specialties: Raw cashew nut (RCN) export, emerging processing

Harvest: Feb–Jun

Tanzania

Major African producer

Regions: Mtwara, Lindi, Coast Region

Specialties: RCN, organic, emerging processing

Harvest: Oct–Jan

Mozambique

Africa's heritage producer

Regions: Nampula, Cabo Delgado, Zambezia

Specialties: RCN, organic-leaning

Harvest: Oct–Jan

Brazil

Origin of the cashew tree

Regions: Ceará, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte

Specialties: cashew apple products (cajuína, feni-style), organic kernels

Harvest: Aug–Jan

Benin

Fast-growing West African producer

Regions: Atacora, Borgou, Collines

Specialties: RCN, fair-trade

Harvest: Feb–Jun

The global cashew supply chain

The unusual thing about cashew is that production, processing, and consumption sit on three different continents. West Africa grows the raw cashew nut at scale — Ivory Coast alone produces roughly 1 million metric tonnes of RCN annually, more than any other country. Vietnam imports much of that RCN and processes it into kernels for global export — Vietnamese processors handle roughly half of global kernel volume. India processes its own RCN plus African imports, and also consumes more cashew than anywhere else on earth (think of every Indian sweet shop, every restaurant gravy, every Diwali gift box).

This split creates the trade dynamics that the Cashew Index tracks: RCN prices move with the African harvest; kernel prices move with Vietnamese and Indian processing capacity and demand from US, EU, and Middle East markets.

By harvest season

  • Feb–Jun (Northern producers): India, Vietnam, Ivory Coast, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Cambodia
  • Aug–Jan (Brazilian + Southern African): Brazil, Tanzania, Mozambique

Counter-seasonal sourcing — combining Northern and Southern origins — is how large buyers smooth supply across the year.