Vietnam Cashew Nuts Manufacturers for OEM and Bulk Exports Company, bay hien ward, 27/4 Lê Trung Nghĩa, Street, Bảy Hiền, Hồ Chí Minh 700000, Vietnam
How is it produced?
Cashews grow beneath the cashew apple. Farmers collect the fruit, separate and dry the raw nuts, and sell them through local traders. The nuts are then roasted or steam-treated, shelled, peeled, graded, and packaged. Much of this work remains manual or semi-mechanized.
Describe the supply chain to the store shelf in Canada:
Smallholder farmers in countries such as Côte d’Ivoire sell raw cashews to local buyers and exporters. The nuts are commonly shipped to Vietnam or India for processing. Processed kernels are then sold to importers, brands, and retailers and transported to Canadian grocery stores.
What is the power balance between the producer and seller?
Farmers have limited market information, financing, storage, and direct access to processors. Exporters, processors, brands, and retailers have greater control over prices, standards, certification, and market access. Farmers therefore carry considerable risk while receiving a smaller share of the final product’s value.
Can you recommend changes to the system to improve the balance?
Strengthen farmer cooperatives, make farmgate pricing transparent, reward quality improvements, expand local processing without lowering farmer prices, improve women’s access to land, enforce labour and environmental standards, and require multinational firms to disclose their sourcing and supply-chain impacts.
References/Resources:
References
Akpa, L., Dibi N’Da, H., Kyereh, B., & Kpangui, K. B. (2019). Impact of cashew plantation on carbon stock in the forest-savanna transition zone (north-east Côte d’Ivoire). International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, 27(2), 591–598.
Bassett, T.J., Koné, M. and Pavlovic, N.R. (2018), Power Relations and Upgrading in the Cashew Value Chain of Côte d’Ivoire. Development and Change, 49: 1223-1247. https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12400
Babatunde, O. P., Adeigbe, O. O., Sobowale, O. I., Muyiwa, A. A., & Balogun, S. T. (2023). Cashew production and breeding in 5 West African countries. Journal of Scientific Research and Reports, 29(5), 28–39. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4434275
Center for WTO and International Trade. (2024, March 4). Reconfigure the global cashew supply chain to prevent disruptions. Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. https://wtocenter.vn/tin-tuc/23925-reconfigure-the-global-cashew-supply-chain-to-prevent-disruptions
Grant, R.W. and Keohane, R.O. (2005). Accountability and abuses of power in world politics. The American Political Science Review. 99 (1) pp. 29-43. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30038917
Kolliesuah, N. P., Saysay, J. L., Zinnah, M. M., Freeman, T. A., & Chinenye, D. (2020). Trend analysis of production, consumption and export of cashew crop in West Africa. African Crop Science Journal, 28(S1), 187–202. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/acsj.v28i1.14S
Kone M. (2010). Analysis of the cashew sector value chain in Côte d’Ivoire. Gates Open Res 2019, 3:1292 (document) https://doi.org/10.21955/gatesopenres.1116203.1
Koné, M., Bassett, T. & Munro, W. (2026). Distributive Governance and Persistent Inequalities in the Cashew Value Chain of Côte d’Ivoire. Eur J Dev Res. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-025-00736-2
Ray, A. (2022). Where does Canada get its cashews? Stellina Marfa. https://stellinamarfa.com/fruits/where-does-canada-get-its-cashews/
Santos, Boaventura de Sousa (2006). Globalizations, theory, culture & society 23 (2-3): 393-399. https://doi.org/10.1177/026327640602300268
Seka, P. R., Kouakou, C. K., Malan, B. B., & Drogon, P. (2013). International trade and poverty in Côte d’Ivoire. https://publication.aercafricalibrary.org/bitstream/123456789/305/1/TP_02_Seka.pdf
Tessmann, J. (2018), Governance and upgrading in South–South value chains: evidence from the cashew industries in India and Ivory Coast. Global Networks, 18: 264-284. https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12165
Tessmann, J. (2020). The Embeddedness of Global Value Chains-Institutions and Value Chain Restructuring in the Cashew Industries of India and Ivory Coast (Doctoral dissertation, Dissertation, Köln, Universität zu Köln, 2020). https://d-nb.info/121822973X/34
Weston, R. (2025, April 24). The global cashew industry: Production, demand and disruption. CropGPT—Politics and Opinion. https://opinion.cropgpt.ai/the-global-cashew-industry-production-demand-and-disruption/
Where do cashews grow? From native origins to major producers. (2025, November 10). ScienceInsights. https://scienceinsights.org/where-do-cashews-grow-from-native-origins-to-major-producers/