From Orchard To Dock:
The Cashew Journey

The cashew (Anacardium occidentale) is a hardy, drought-tolerant tree that does well in the warm, well-drained soils of Ghana's transition and savannah zones. Seedlings go in at the start of the rains and are spaced widely, so every tree gets sun and airflow. Crowded orchards yield less and are harder to keep healthy.

For the first few years the young trees need regular weeding, protection from bush fires and light pruning to build a strong frame. Many farmers intercrop with maize, cowpea or groundnut in that early period, which brings in income while the trees mature. After that, a well-kept tree keeps producing for decades, and orchards are often passed from one generation to the next.

Trees flower once a year, at the start of the dry season, sending out large clusters of small pink-and-cream blossoms. Insects do the pollinating, and how many flowers actually set fruit depends on them, so keeping pollinators around the orchard helps the harvest.

The cashew's fruit is unusual. The nut hangs outside the fruit, at the tip of a swollen, juicy 'apple' (botanically an accessory fruit). The nut forms first; the apple swells beneath it and ripens red, yellow or orange. The apple is edible and rich in vitamin C, but it bruises and spoils within a day, so it rarely travels far. The nut is the export crop.

Nuts are ready once the apple has ripened and the nut has turned from green to grey-brown. Farmers twist ripe nuts free or gather the ones that have dropped, and they go back through the orchard every few days through the season rather than harvesting everything at once. That way each pass collects nuts at their peak.

The nut is separated from the apple straight away. Left together, the apple's sugars and moisture damage the shell and invite mould. Careful hand work protects the kernel inside: nuts that sit on damp ground or get attacked by pests lose value quickly. Harvested nuts go into woven baskets or breathable sacks, never sealed plastic, which traps moisture.

Freshly harvested nuts hold too much moisture to store safely. They are spread in a thin layer on mats or raised drying racks, kept off bare soil, and turned regularly so they dry evenly. In good sun this takes several days.

Farmers check dryness by feel and by sound, since a dry nut rattles in its shell, and buying points use a moisture meter. Nuts that are too damp develop mould and off-flavours in storage, while over-dried nuts turn brittle and break. Once dry, the nuts are bagged and kept off the floor in a ventilated store until they move on to the processing yard.

When nuts arrive, a sample is taken and analysed. We check the outturn (KOR) — how much good kernel the nuts will give — which should be 46 upwards, and the nut count, which should be about 180–190 nuts per kg.

The sample is checked for spotted, immature, rotten and oily nuts and empty shells, and the moisture is measured. Nuts that meet the standard earn the standard price or better; nuts that fall short get a lower price.

At the buying point every bag is weighed in front of the seller and paid for at the TCDA minimum price or better.

During the main season 50 pesewas per kilo (GH₵50 per bag) is deducted and recorded in the farmer's passbook as kilo deduction savings. The nuts are then bagged in breathable jute sacks, ready for storage.

Once the nuts are dried and classified they go into storage. Our stores keep the bags off the ground and away from rain and damp, so the moisture stays low and the quality holds.

Lots are built up in bulk storage until there is enough to load for the exporter.

Unity Impex Buying is a trader: we supply exporters. When a lot is ready, the bags are loaded onto our company trucks and carried to the exporter.

The same trucks pick up large quantities from farmers, aggregators and buyers during the season, so nuts move quickly from the farm gate to the exporter.