Тop 10 Cashew-Producing Countries in 2025
Global overview (in-shell raw cashew nuts)
Cashews are a high-value tree-nut crop that links smallholder orchards to global snack, confectionery, and ingredient supply chains. In 2025, the industry continues to show a familiar “two-stage” structure: production scales fastest where orchards and farm participation expand, while large kernel-processing ecosystems remain concentrated in established manufacturing hubs.
Key trends shaping 2025
- Supply shift: West Africa remains a major growth center for raw nut supply.
- Processing investment: New plants in Africa increase local value addition, while Asia still dominates large-scale throughput.
- Demand pull: The United States, the EU, and China remain core destinations for kernels and cashew-based products.
- Standards & sustainability: Traceability, certification, and food safety increasingly separate premium from commodity channels.
Top 10 cashew-producing countries (2025)
Production values are estimates for 2025 and reported on an in-shell (raw nut) basis, in metric tons.
Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
India
Viet Nam
Nigeria
Tanzania
Benin
Burkina Faso
Ghana
Mozambique
Indonesia
| Rank | Country | 2025 production (t) | Key notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Côte d’Ivoire | 1,050,000 | Largest producer; value-add and processing expansion focus |
| 2 | India | 850,000 | Major processor and consumer; imports raw nuts for factories |
| 3 | Viet Nam | 425,000 | Leading kernel exporter; high-efficiency processing and imports |
| 4 | Nigeria | 340,000 | Africa’s #2 producer; improving quality and processing capacity |
| 5 | Tanzania | 280,000 | Key smallholder crop; auction system; factory expansion |
| 6 | Benin | 260,000 | Fast growth; major export crop alongside cotton |
| 7 | Burkina Faso | 180,000 | Rural development driver; logistics and productivity constraints |
| 8 | Ghana | 170,000 | Diversification priority; building domestic processing channels |
| 9 | Mozambique | 150,000 | Historic producer; orchard rehabilitation and new investment |
| 10 | Indonesia | 130,000 | Export-oriented; kernel quality; orchard renewal needs |
Chart 1: Top 10 cashew producers (2025, estimated)
Methodology
This ranking is a 2025 snapshot using estimated 2025 production of raw cashew nuts (RCN) on an in-shell basis. Countries are ordered by production volume (metric tons). Values are rounded for readability and should be treated as directional estimates rather than audited totals, because crop years differ across countries and supply chains include informal trade.
- Metric: raw cashew nut production (in-shell, metric tons).
- Year: 2025 (estimate snapshot; not a single synchronized statistical release).
- Processing vs production: production reflects harvested raw nuts; it does not imply domestic kernel processing.
- Rounding & harmonization: values are rounded; country names standardized for consistency.
- Limitations: weather shocks, pests, farm-gate incentives, and cross-border flows can shift realized totals within a season; revisions are common in agricultural series.
Insights & takeaways
The 2025 cashew story is best understood as geographic specialization. Raw nut supply has expanded rapidly across West Africa, where cashew functions as a core smallholder cash crop tied to rural incomes and export earnings. Meanwhile, the highest-throughput kernel-processing ecosystems remain concentrated in Asia, where scale, labor organization, technology, and buyer networks support reliable exports of graded kernels.
The competitive frontier is shifting toward value addition closer to farms: consistent drying and moisture control, better grading, transparent trading rules, and traceable lots that can access premium markets. In practice, “who grows” and “who captures value” are connected but not identical questions.
What this means for readers
- For consumers: diversified supply supports availability, but prices can still move with weather, freight, and inventory cycles.
- For businesses: origin and processing hub are separate decisions—raw supply often points to Africa; kernel formats and specs often point to processing hubs.
- For producing regions: local processing can raise retained value and jobs, but it depends on stable raw supply, power reliability, finance, skills, and logistics.
FAQ
Why is Côte d’Ivoire ranked #1?
Why do India and Viet Nam import raw cashews if they also produce them?
What does “in-shell” mean, and how is it different from kernels?
Does high production automatically mean high exports?
Why is so much production in Africa while much processing is in Asia?
What are the biggest risks to production in 2025?
Table tools (Top 10, 2025 snapshot)
Explore the Top 10 list with search, sorting, and filters. “Share of assumed global (%)” is shown only as a scale reference, using an indicative 2025 global total of 5,000,000 t (in-shell).
| Rank | Country | Value | Region • Income |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Côte d’Ivoire | 1,050,000 | Africa |
| 2 | India | 850,000 | Asia |
| 3 | Viet Nam | 425,000 | Asia |
| 4 | Nigeria | 340,000 | Africa |
| 5 | Tanzania | 280,000 | Africa |
| 6 | Benin | 260,000 | Africa |
| 7 | Burkina Faso | 180,000 | Africa |
| 8 | Ghana | 170,000 | Africa |
| 9 | Mozambique | 150,000 | Africa |
| 10 | Indonesia | 130,000 | Asia |
Chart 2: Top 10 by region (bubble view)
Each bubble represents a country in the Top 10 only. X-axis is production (t). Y-axis groups countries by region (Africa vs Asia).
Interpretation & outlook
The cashew economy in 2025 illustrates a broader pattern common to agricultural commodities: orchard supply expands where land, agronomy, and smallholder participation scale, while processing concentrates where industrial ecosystems already exist. Côte d’Ivoire’s leadership highlights Africa’s growing role as a raw nut supplier, and the steady positions of India and Viet Nam underscore the value of processing capacity, quality systems, and buyer networks.
Industry drivers
- Expanding African output: West Africa continues to lead growth in raw nut supply as cashew becomes a primary cash crop for many households.
- Local processing push: New factories and policy incentives aim to retain value through jobs and exports of kernels rather than raw nuts.
- Demand diversification: Kernels feed snacks and confectionery, but also cashew-based beverages, butters, and ingredient applications.
- Compliance premium: Food safety systems, traceability, and sustainability reporting increasingly influence access to high-value markets.
Industry challenges
- Price volatility: Farm-gate prices can swing with weather, inventory cycles, freight costs, and buyer timing.
- Quality control: Moisture management, drying, storage, and grading are decisive for kernel yield and export acceptance.
- Climate risk: Drought, erratic rainfall, and pest pressure can reduce yields or shift harvest calendars.
- Value-chain constraints: Power reliability, finance, skills, and logistics often determine whether local processing can scale competitively.
Policy takeaways
- Raise orchard productivity: extension services, improved planting material, and pest management typically deliver the fastest gains for smallholders.
- Reduce post-harvest losses: drying infrastructure and storage standards improve quality and stabilize prices.
- Scale processing responsibly: expansion works best when paired with stable raw supply, reliable energy, skilled labor, and transparent market rules.
- Compete on standards: traceability, certification, and food-safety systems are increasingly part of market access in premium segments.
Conclusion
The 2025 cashew landscape is shaped by two connected engines: Africa’s expanding raw nut supply and Asia’s specialization in processing and kernel exports. Côte d’Ivoire leads production, while India and Viet Nam remain central to the global kernel trade through large-scale processing. For producing countries, the biggest opportunity is retaining more value through quality upgrades and scalable processing; for buyers and consumers, the key challenge is managing volatility while strengthening traceability and sustainability.
Sources (official & industry)
Background series, definitions, and value-chain context that support a 2025 snapshot (in-shell/raw nuts and market structure).
