Buy Ivory Coast Cashew Nuts Directly From Exporters & Suppliers - Best of 2024 Market Prices

Ivory Coast cashew nuts have a rich taste and are protein full. In recent years, cashew milk has gained popularity as a substitute for lactose-free milk. Cashew nuts are also used to make food products like cashew butter. The nuts are rich in minerals like phosphorus and magnesium. 

Cashew production in Ivory Coast began in 1959. The years 1959 and 1960 saw the first tree planting. Since then, the cashew nut production in the country has undergone several developments throughout the years.

The Ivory Coast cashew nut tree can grow up to 20m high. It has a unique fruit that houses the edible 2-3cm, C-shaped nut. The flesh after splitting the fruit is smooth and white. It is a green fruit but later transforms into red, yellow colour with fragrance as it matures. The plants’ leaves are thick, an oval to spatulate shape and have entire margins.

Ivory Coast has a 770,000 tonnes a year output making it the world’s top producer. It is grown in areas like Yamoussoukro, and the country as a whole has an estimated 1.375 million hectares under cashew nuts cultivation. As a northern latitude country, availability season falls between February and March each year.

Ivorian cashew nuts are calibrated by size. The small nuts are 18-22 mm, the medium-sized ones are 23-25mm, and the large nuts are 26-35mm.

Ivory Coast cashew nuts require 0 to 500 metres above sea levels lowlands because of their 1000mm annual precipitation. The plant has extensive roots that source water and minerals. Deep and well-drained soils are an okay condition, but the optimal choice is soils that are fertile and loamy

The Ivorian cashew plants take 3 to 4 years to fruit and 9 to 10 to mature. It then stays for thirty to forty years of getting harvested.

Harvesting of the Ivorian cashew nuts is done basically by picking the fallen nuts. After harvesting, they are dried for close to a week till a humidity level of below 10% is reached. The unprocessed nuts get stored at 0°c.

The process continues with the nuts being rehydrated by being put in humidifier machines or getting immersed in water for two days. The cashews are then set for a minute and a half in a 192°c oil-filled roasting pan. Traditionally, steam cooking or roasting was used to prep the cashews for shelling. This stage is followed by shell breaking, which is accomplished either by hammering using a wooden or slicing with curve knives. The country has a factory method option, which is by using centrifugal heaters.

The opened kernels dry and their skins get removed with a sharp tool leaving the real nuts. They then go through calibration or size grading-separation by nut size, colour and condition. 8% moisturization and packaging in packets, 10-25kg poly sacks and 8kg jute bags is the final step before the cashew nuts get shipped under 15°c-25°c temperature conditions. Each pack has carbon dioxide as a filler to reduce the friction of the content and as an additional buffer against spoilage of the products. Ivory Coast exports to India, Brazil and Vietnam

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