WEST AFRICAN CASHEW MARKET REPORT, MAY 26, 2026

The West African cashew market is entering the final stages of the season with slower trading activity, while inventory levels remain high in many areas. RCN prices in key markets generally remain stable to slightly adjusted, while international markets continue to closely monitor raw material quality and import demand in the coming period.

1. MARKET OVERVIEW

The West African cashew market continued its clear downward trend this week as the region entered the final stages of the harvest season. In most countries, the harvest is almost complete, trading volume has dropped sharply, and supply mainly comes from remaining stocks of increasingly declining quality.

Demand for cashews remains weak, particularly from the Middle East, which accounts for approximately 10% of global consumption but is experiencing a significant decline in imports. Against this backdrop, raw cashew (RCN) prices have generally declined slightly or remained stable, while kernel prices have remained steady but are under increasing downward pressure from supply.

2. PRICE TRENDS OF RAW CASHEW NUTS (RCN) IN WEST AFRICA

The RCN price levels in key markets this week are as follows. 

In Togo, farmgate prices ranged from 520 to 580 FCFA/kg, reflecting pressure from large inventories and weak demand. 

In Ivory Coast, prevailing prices ranged from 250 to 375 FCFA/kg depending on quality and production region, with port and factory prices remaining around 450 to 455 FCFA/kg. Burkina Faso recorded farmgate prices in the range of 450 to 525 FCFA/kg, showing a slight decrease compared to the previous week.

Ghana continues to weaken with prices falling to just 7 to 8 GHS/kg at the source and 9 to 10 GHS/kg at the wholesale channel, while the quality of late-season grain consistently remains below acceptable levels. 

Guinea-Bissau recorded a slight decrease in port prices of 10 FCFA/kg to 580-585 FCFA/kg, while farmgate prices remained stable at around 400-500 FCFA/kg. 

Most worrying is Mali, where prices in many regions have fallen sharply, with Kita region seeing prices as low as 200 to 250 FCFA/kg, a significant drop from last week's 275 to 300 FCFA/kg.

The general trend across the region is for prices to fall or stabilize at low levels. Late-season regions like Ghana and Mali are under the most significant downward pressure due to declining grain quality and virtually no demand.

3. DEVELOPMENTS BY MARKET

Demand for grain across all West African markets this week was uniformly weak. Trading slowed down significantly, mainly due to large inventories and uncertain grain quality, leading to a sharp decline in purchasing power from exporters.

Several factors are directly impacting the market. The early and increasingly heavy monsoon season in many regions is reducing the quality of the nuts, hindering the drying process, and affecting their shelf life. High financial costs and thin profit margins are causing many buyers and exporters to limit their activities, or even withdraw from the market. In Togo, the export tax of 100 FCFA/kg continues to be a burden, reducing the competitiveness of the country's cashew nuts. In Nigeria, the shortage of empty containers and port congestion remain unresolved, causing many shipments to be stuck in domestic warehouses while awaiting transport to the ports of Lagos and Port Harcourt.

In Nigeria, the shortage of empty containers and port congestion remain unresolved, leaving many shipments stranded in domestic warehouses.

4. INTERNATIONAL MARKET

On the international market, CFR Asia raw cashew prices continued to decline slightly by about $25/ton compared to last week. Overall, from the end of April to the beginning of May, prices have decreased by an average of $100/ton for the same quality level. This is a significant decrease, but not large enough to force importers into contract defaults.

Regarding cashew kernels, the FOB price in Vietnam for WW320 is currently at $3.00 – $3.25/lb and has remained stable this week. Vietnamese processing plants with consistent quality are offering prices at $3.1 – $3.15/lb because they purchased raw materials at higher prices in previous months. This creates some resistance from the supply side, helping cashew kernel prices temporarily maintain their current level.

5. GLOBAL SUPPLY AND DEMAND

On the demand side, cashew demand is generally weak in West Africa and has declined significantly in the Middle East. Recently released Indian customs data for April 2026 paints a less than positive picture. In April, India imported only 58,800 tonnes of RCN, 24,000 tonnes less than the same period in 2025. This decrease is mainly due to Ghana, the first West African country to export this year, which shipped only 21,500 tonnes in April compared to 44,500 tonnes in the same period last year. However, cumulative imports for the first four months of 2026 are still higher than the previous year thanks to strong increases in supplies from East Africa (Tanzania up 101%, Mozambique up 92%).

Regarding nuclear exports, India only exported 2,010 tons in April 2026. Cumulatively for the first four months of the year, India's nuclear exports decreased by 17% compared to the same period in 2025 and by more than 40% compared to 2024, reflecting the country's continuously shrinking market share globally.

6. MARKET OUTLOOK

In the short term, the market is projected to remain stable or decline slightly. No significant price-increasing factors are emerging given the abundant raw material supply to processing plants, declining demand from the Middle East, and inflation concerns affecting consumer spending in many importing markets.

In the medium term, prices may trade sideways or decline slightly for the remainder of Q2 and the entire Q3 of 2026. No upward supporting factors have been identified at this time.

Compiled from various sources.