Mozambique approves new regulation to boost cashew value chain competitiveness

The Government added that it intends to harmonise and update the legal framework governing the entire sector value chain, from production to export, while also covering processing and marketing activities. It also stated that the Regulation of the Cashew Law constitutes “a regulatory instrument aligned with the development, growth, transformation and competitiveness” of the product’s value chain, arguing that the revision of the regulatory framework is necessary to address the sector’s current challenges and strengthen national competitiveness in an increasingly demanding international market. “The proposed regulation is relevant and crucial for strengthening the competitiveness of the cashew value chain in all its scope and that of the country in the global cashew market,” the Government said, adding that it expects the new rules to contribute to “strengthening the security that attracts investment to the cashew value chain” and to the sustainability of the different segments and stakeholders involved in the activity.

Data from the Bank of Mozambique compiled by Lusa show that Mozambican exports of cashew nuts generated US$57.3 million in 2023 and reached US$98.2 million in 2024, before falling to US$66 million in 2025. In the first quarter of 2026, exports of the product had already reached US$68.4 million. During the same period, but in the cashew kernel segment, external sales totalled US$2.9 million.

The move to strengthen cashew competitiveness comes less than a year after the Government launched the 2025-2034 Cashew Value Chain Development Programme, valued at US$374 million, with the aim of increasing annual production from the current 158,000 tonnes to 689,000 tonnes by 2034. The targets include increasing producer support capacity from 230,000 to more than 600,000 producers, expanding processing capacity from 40,000 tonnes to more than 482,000 tonnes, and advancing the digitalisation of the sector. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that cashew nut marketing during the 2024/2025 campaign reached around 195,400 tonnes, approaching the historical levels recorded during the colonial period, when Mozambique was among the world’s largest producers of the crop.

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According to official information, national production exceeded 200,000 tonnes annually around 50 years ago and, in 1973, Mozambique ranked second globally in processed cashew production, with 210,000 tonnes, behind only India. After independence in 1975, production fell to around 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes annually, before gradually recovering over recent decades.

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