Raw Cashew Nuts Research Articles

African Countries’ Agricultural Trade Value Chain Assessment Case study: Tanzania (Cashew nut exports)

Sub-Saharan Africa lost its status as a net exporter of agricultural products in the early 1980s when prices for raw commodities fell and local production stagnated. Since then, agricultural imports have grown faster than agricultural exports. In order to get to the bottom of this critical issue, UNIDO in partnership with the AU, IFAD, AfDB, FAO, and UNECA, developed the African Agribusiness and Agro-Industries Development Initiative (3ADI). The major objective of the 3ADI is to increase private sector investment flows going into the agriculture sector in Africa by mobilizing resources for agribusiness and agro-industrial development from the domestic, regional or international financial systems. This formed the basis of research with the objective of assessing the value addition chain for some vital agricultural commodities in the 3ADI focus countries. UNIDO is developing several action plans in a few African countries – one of them is Tanzania. In the case of Tanzania, the findings show the potential in cashew nuts. The paper’s main goal is to propose a plan or set of steps leading to the improvement of added value generation in the area of agricultural trade in Tanzania. The paper is focused on one commodity Cashew-nuts. Tanzania boosts high volumes of local supply of this commodity, which is the key prerequisite for the value addition chain through local processing. The results from the analysis prove significant economic losses related to the current structure of Tanzanian trade in cashew nuts. The main problem of the current cashew nut trade activities is the very low added value of exported cashew nuts. The paper analyses the structure of value added activities related to the cashew nut trade and proposes a plan for increasing the share of processed cashew nuts at a much higher unit price in comparison to raw cashew nuts. The simulated development in the cashew sector in Tanzania to the year 2030 is based on two expectations a 5% increase of evaluation of particular steps and a 5% growth of processed cashew nuts export volume resulting in significant growth of export incomes and provides an important material stimulating discussion related to the importance of the transformation of the export structure from unprocessed raw products to processed – finalized products.

Analysis of opportunities for greenhouse emission reduction in the global supply chains of cashew industry in West Africa

Global supply chains (GSCs) have become common for industries, and companies seek to reduce their environmental impact, particularly greenhouse gas (GHG), through their GSCs. Guided by ISO 14044, we measure and compare GHG emission of 1000 kg of cashew kernels in 12 GSCs scenarios of West Africa cashew industry, and identify opportunities for reduction. The results show that transportation, cashew processing operation and nutshells waste management produce significant proportion of the total GHG emission. Such results highlight the fact that alternatives in process units and flows in life cycle systems can reduce GHG emission of a product. Thus, limitation of transportation of raw cashew nuts for primary processing, the use of energy-efficient processing methods, and processing on large-scale gives options to supply chain managers and decision makers in the industry to reduce GHG emission. Again, making use of co-product (nutshells) reduces cashew kernels GHG emission much more than it may have been considered by most stakeholders. The challenges of measuring and comparing GHG emission in the industry's GSCs such as non-existing or inadequate quality databases are also discussed.

Cashew cultivation in Guinea-Bissau – risks and challenges of the success of a cash crop

In recent decades a boom in cashew (Anacardium occidentale)cultivation has taken place in Guinea-Bissau, leading to the replacement of traditional slash-and-burn agriculture by a cash crop. As a result, the country is currently one of the world’s largest producers of raw cashew nuts and the cashew sector has acquired enormous importance in Guinea-Bissau’s economy. Changes induced by the cashew boom at social and environmental levels are yet to be analyzed and understood. The present study provides an account of the process of cashew expansion in Guinea-Bissau, reviews the current situation and discusses its future prospects. The cashew tree was introduced into the country by the Portuguese in the XIXth century, but only effectively expanded in the mid-1980s. It is largely cultivated by small farmers around villages and also plays a role in land ownership, since land tenure practices are linked to the planting of trees. The effects of this cashew boom on habitat fragmentation, fire regimes and biodiversity are still to be assessed. On the other hand, the spread of pests and diseases is becoming a problem. Strong dependence on a single cash crop also renders the country vulnerable to market fluctuations, entailing risks to local producers and the national economy. In the medium term, losses of export earnings can occur, which may impact the living standards and food security of Bissau-Guineans both in urban and rural areas.

Export performance of Indian cashew

India is the largest producer of cashew nut in the world accounting for 39.47 per cent of world cashew production during 2010. It has the largest area harvested under the raw cashew nuts in the world. The area of cashew had registered a growth rate of 2.46 per cent per annum, while the production increased by 4.51 per cent per annum. The yield recorded a compound growth rate of 1.79 per cent per annum during the study period (1978-79 to 2011-12). These growth rates were statistically significant at one per cent level of probability. The variation in area, production, and productivity of cashew was observed at 3.84 per cent, 6.29 per cent and 8.09 per cent, respectively. Results on variability in export revealed that in quantity terms it was 7.64 per cent, in value terms it was 12.23 per cent and in terms of unit value it worked out to be 14.23 per cent, which is the highest. Introduction of new High Yielding Varieties of cashew can improve the production and export of cashew kernel. It would be better to concentrate on exporting more of value added products to realize higher profit and it ensures a better price to producer by increasing competition in domestic market.

Social and economic benefits of cashew (Anacardium occidentale) cultivation in Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka: An analysis of the impact, its determinants and constraints

The study measured social and economic benefits accrued from cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) cultivation in relation with constraints faced by cashew farmers in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. An ‘ex-post-facto cause to effect’ design was used and findings indicated that most cashew farmers derived moderate socio-economic benefits particularly with high social benefits in comparison to low economic benefits. High levels of social participation, extension participation, mass media exposure and opinion leadership were measured among majority of the farmers practicing cashew cultivation. Impact on cropping pattern, labour engagement and farm expenditure were found to be low while increase in family incomes and expenditure were reported. The regression analysis revealed that four personal variables, viz. the age of cashew farmer, years of experience in farming, cosmopoliteness and distance of cashew plot from home and one economic variable, i.e. importance given to cashew cultivation as exerting a significant positive contribution towards explaining the variability in socio-economic impact. The variables used in the study could together explain up to 67% variability in socio-economic impact. The stepwise regression model developed to predict socio-economic impact explained up to 68% of the variation in socioeconomic impact using the predictors; importance given to cashew (X1), years of experience in farming (X2), cosmopoliteness (X3), distance of cashew plot from home (X4), extension participation (X5), land used for other crops (X6) and net income from cashew farming (X7). The study revealed major constraints faced by farmers like poor price quoted by traders and the price fluctuations for raw cashew nut, scarcity of of hired labourers, incidence of tea mosquito bug owing to crop loss and death of yielding trees due to cashew stem and root borer attack.

English

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.); a tropical nut tree crop, is a source of food, income, industrial raw materials and foreign exchange for many countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. In Nigeria, current cashew trading and exports is worth 24 billion naira ($160 million) and over one million people depend on the industry. Commercial cultivation of cashew in Nigeria dates back to more than 60 years, while research and development into its production, processing and marketing started in 1972.  The past four decades were marked with introduction of exotic cashew genotypes, selection, cultivation and production from local and exotic varieties. Much discrepancies exists in yield records, current national production of raw nuts is estimated at 836,500 MT on 366,000 ha with an average yield of 2,286 kg/ha. Just about 5% of the produced nuts are processed in Nigeria. Unimproved planting materials, aging trees and low yields are part of the production constraints of raw cashew nut in Nigeria. There are records of selection and release of genotypes based on some desirable genetic attributes. Moreover, there are advances towards breeding for yield, quality and hybrid generation. This paper addressed the status of Nigeria cashew production, research efforts, achievements, constraints and areas of possible improvement.   Key words: Cashew, income generation, research, production, Nigeria. &nbsp

CASHEW INDUSTRY - AN OUTLOOK

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) belongs to the family Anacardiaceae. In the world cashew production takes place mainly in the three zones namely (i) Central and South American zone, (ii) Asia and Oceanic zone and (iii) African zones. In these zones there are 28 countries now involved in the production of cashew. The total raw nut production in the world is around 39.53 lakh tons from an area of 35.78 lakh ha. Four centuries ago, the adventurous Portuguese came sailing down the Indian coasts and brought with them the priceless tree nut “cashew”, the wonder nut of the world. Cashew came, conquered and took deep roots in the entire coastal region of India. Cashew found the Indian soil more homely than its homeland. Later it spread as a popular crop to other parts of India. Cashew was originally planted in India as a windbreaker and to prevent soil erosion. Also its cultivation was also considered essential as tree cover in eroded hilly areas where reforestation programmes were under way, in order to prevent further erosion. Initially cashew cultivation in India is mostly confined to the western and eastern coastal areas of the peninsular region. But now commercial cultivation of cashew in India is taken up in eight states in India. Coastal states of the country are the main production centres. The important cashew growing states of India are Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. It is also cultivated on small areas in other states of the country. India has an area of about 9.23 lakh ha under cashew with an estimated annual production of about 6.13 lakh tons of raw cashew nut with a productivity of 700 kg/ha (NHB, 2010). India is the largest producer, processor, consumer and exporter of cashew in the world. Cashew cultivation is taken up in small and marginal holdings and as more than 70% of the cashew area is under this category, cashew plays an important role in the development of small and marginal farmers. India has a comparative advantage in the production and processing of cashew nuts on account of its cheap and skilled labour force. The current production accounts for 45% of the global production. A large number of small and marginal farmers, especially living on the coastal belts of India, depend on cashew for their livelihood. Nearly 2.00 lakh workers, more than 90% of whom are women, are directly employed in cashew processing industries which are concentrated mostly in Kerala. It is estimated that nearly two million people are involved, directly and indirectly in cashew cultivation, processing and marketing. Cashew forms an important component of the basket of agricultural products exported from India. But the yield per hectare in India was poor at 860 kg/ha during 2007-08 as compared to 4,125 kg/ha in Vietnam and 2,000 kg/ha in Nigeria. There is a need to expand and fully utilize the crop potential if India has to keep pace with growing global demand, retain market share and stay ahead of the rapidly emerging competition in the world market.

PERFORMANCE OF CASHEW CULTIVARS UNDER MAIDAN PARTS OF KARNATAKA

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is an upcoming commercial plantation crop of maidan parts of Karnataka as it is known to exhibit drought tolerance. India is the largest producer, consumer and second largest exporter of cashew in the world. However, the present annual production of about 6.95 lakh tons of raw cashew nuts from an area of 8.60 lakh ha cannot meet the annual demand of processing industries, which is estimated to be around 11-12 lakh tons of raw nuts. The present low productivity of 0.900 t/ha is mainly due to the coverage of large cashew area with non-descript, genetically inferior seedling progenies. Therefore, in order to identify a suitable cashew cultivar for maidan parts, the 14 cultivars/hybrids released from different centres were field planted at the Agricultural Research Station, Chintamani during 1992. Among 14 entries, the highest nut yield of 12.76 kg/tree was recorded by ‘H-320’ followed by ‘NRCC-2’ (10.82 kg/tree). For the cumulative yield over a period of 16 harvests, ‘H-320’ recorded highest cumulative yield of 144.85 kg/tree followed by ‘NRCC-2’ (127.34 kg/tree). On perusal of the data, it was observed that among cultivars/hybrids tried ‘H-320’ recorded higher nut weight (8.8 g), shelling percent (31) and consistent nut yield over years under maidan parts of Karnataka.

Comparative Quality Evaluation of Roasted Cashew Nut Kernel: Effect of Roasting Methods

This study was conducted to determine the effect of two roasting methods on the chemical, microbial as well as the sensory qualities of cashew nut kernels. Raw cashew nut was processed to obtain the plain cashew kernels and was divided into two portions which were subjected to different roasting treatments using conventional-air oven and halogen oven at a temperature of 200°C for 40 min, respectively. Proximate analysis showed that the conventional-oven roasted cashew kernel had higher moisture content, protein and crude fiber values of 4.68%±0.18, 18.34±0.94 and 2.11±0.08, respectively than the roasted sample using halogen-oven. In halogen-oven roasted kernel, the fat, carbohydrate, fatty acid and metabolizeable energy contents were higher (45.62±0.98, 2.53±0.08, 30.04±0.95, 39.23±0.85 and 2480.04±21.00, respectively). The mineral analysis indicated that the halogen-oven roasted kernels had higher values except in the case of Magnesium (Mg), which was higher in the conventional-oven roasted cashew nuts. The microbial assessment of the cashew kernels showed that halogen-oven cashew roasted kernel had a reduced value in all the microbiological analysis carried out with the exception of staphylococcus count. However, <em>E. coli</em> was not present in any of the cashew kernel samples. Based on the sensory rating, halogen-oven roasted cashew kernel had the highest overall acceptability sensory rating. It was observed that chemical parameters of fat, fatty acid and metabolizable energy show positive correlation at both (p<0.01) and (p<0.05) for the sensory attributes of color, taste, crispiness, flavor and overall acceptability while the chemical parameters of moisture content protein and crude fibre showed a negative correlation for all the sensory attributes. The results of this study indicated that halogen-oven will be better option for producing nutritious and wholesome roasted cashew nut kernels with acceptable sensory qualities.

Performance on the evaluation of pilot cashew nut processing unit

Cashew ( Anacardium occidentale L.) is one of the important tropical crops. India is largest producer, processor, exporter and consumer of it in the world. The recovery of the kernel (edible meat portion) from raw nuts by mechanical or manual means refers to processing of cashew nut. It consists of various processes in series viz., moisture conditioning, roasting, shelling, drying, peeling, grading and packing etc. A small cashew processing unit consisting of steamer, cooker, shelling machine and dryer was tested for its performance for the cashew nut variety 'Vengurla-5' (Ansure Arli). The unit has received at Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Shenda Park; Kolhapur under Technology Park sanctioned Commissioner, Agriculture M.S. and Pune. The six treatments consisting of various combinations for pressure and time were evaluated for the performance of unit. The study revealed that treatment combination (4.5 kg/cm 2 and 20 min) gain maximum recovery of whole kernels as well as over all recovery of kernels, with minimum moisture content, which is desirable for good quality product in the markets. The treatment condition consisting of keeping raw cashew nut at 4.5 kg/cm 2 pressure for 20 minutes duration for the given processing unit is best for maximum recovery of good quality kernels and overall total recovery of kernels with minimum moisture content.

Effect of storage temperatures and humidity on proximate composition, peroxide value and iodine value of raw cashew nuts.

The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of raw cashew nuts (RCN) were determined using the standard static gravimetric method at 30°C, 40°C and 50°C for relative humidity (RH) ranging from 43 to 90%. The proximate composition analysis, peroxide value and iodine value of RCN were assessed at this equilibrium stage. The RCN kept under the humidity of 86 and 90 percentage at all studied temperatures developed mold growth within 24-48h of time. The better storage condition assessed for raw cashew nut is 67% of RH at 30°C and the values obtained for EMC, proximate composition analysis, peroxide value and iodine value are within the same range as observed with harvested RCN. Highlights • Raw cashew nut storage condition identified • It was analysed with different temperature (30 (°)C, 40 (°)C and 50 (°)C) and relative humidity (43%-90%) • Better storage condition for raw cashew nut is in 67% of RH at 30 (°)C • In this condition the EMC was 8.11% as within the range of moisture in harvested RCN.

Energy Analysis of Baby Boiler for Steaming of Raw Cashew Nut Seeds

The steaming of raw cashew seeds prior to shelling is adopted widely in small-scale cashew nut processing mills with the help of baby boiler. The wide variations in energy intensity of these mills reveal the scope for energy conservation. The baby boiler coupled with cooker commonly used for steaming of raw seeds was evaluated. The variation in steam pressure, temperature and operating time with respect to fuel was observed along with thermal efficiency of a boiler. The energy intensity to produce the steam using different fuel sources determined. The study revealed that the thermal efficiency of boiler using electricity as a fuel was higher (69.31%) as compared to 4.66% (Wood) and 4.47% (Cashew nut shell). It was observed that, the energy consumed per kg of cashew nut steaming using electricity (248.99 kJ/kg) was minimum followed by wood (3829.96 kJ/kg) and cashew nut shell (3835.64 kJ/kg). The variation of energy consumption for cashew nut steaming revealed the scope for energy conservation in biomass combustion system. The improvement in the biomass combustion efficiency for steam generation could results in less fuel consumption and shorter period.

The effect of pre-treatment methods on the yield and taste of cashew kernels (Anacardium occidentale L.)

Pre-treatment methods that cashew nuts (Anacardium occidentale L.) are subjected to before shelling are crucial in influencing the yield of whole kernels and the aftertaste. In this work, raw cashew nuts were subjected to different times of steaming, boiling, and roasting as pre-treatment methods and their effect on yield and panellists’ preference for taste followed by spectrophotometric determination of residual cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) on kernels were assessed. After initial comparison of kernels obtained from similarly pre-treated samples, the samples boiled for 15 min, steamed for 30 min, and conditioned before roasting were selected. Further analysis showed no significant differences in the yield of all grades of cashew kernels from cashew nuts steamed for 30 min (71%) and that boiled for 15 min (69%). The sample conditioned before roasting, had a significantly lower whole kernel recovery (51%) but significantly higher percentage yield for halves (37%) than the steamed (19%) and boiled samples (21%).Panellists preferred the sample boiled for 15 min as having the least after-taste, followed by the sample steamed for 30 min, with the sample conditioned before roasting being least preferred. Spectrophotometric results of residual CNSL on kernels were 25, 54, and 71 ppm, respectively for samples boiled for 15 min, steamed for 30 min, and the one conditioned before roasting, buttressing the sensory evaluation results. Key words: Cashew nuts, steaming, boiling, roasting, spectrophotometric determination.

Quantification of energy consumption for cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale L.) processing operations

A study was conducted for the estimation of energy consumption in eight readily defined unit operations of small-scale cashew nut processing in India. The nine industries were stratified into 60, 30 and 15 kg/batch capacity of steam cooker. Series of equations were developed to easily compute requirements of solar, electricity, fuel and manual energy for each of the unit operations. The results show that the total energy consumption per 1000 kg of raw cashew nuts in three categories of industries was 5321.43, 5540.14 and 6061.34 MJ, respectively, when the steaming operation was carried out by using electricity. The three identified energy-intensive operations in cashew nut processing were cashew nut drying, cashew nut steaming and drying of cashew kernels, altogether accounting for over 90% of the total energy consumption. The developed equations are useful tools for carrying out budgeting, forecasting energy requirements and planning plant expansion.

Bioactive Compounds in Cashew Nut (Anacardium occidentale L.) Kernels: Effect of Different Shelling Methods

In the present study, the effects of various conventional shelling methods (oil-bath roasting, direct steam roasting, drying, and open pan roasting) as well as a novel "Flores" hand-cracking method on the levels of bioactive compounds of cashew nut kernels were investigated. The raw cashew nut kernels were found to possess appreciable levels of certain bioactive compounds such as beta-carotene (9.57 microg/100 g of DM), lutein (30.29 microg/100 g of DM), zeaxanthin (0.56 microg/100 g of DM), alpha-tocopherol (0.29 mg/100 g of DM), gamma-tocopherol (1.10 mg/100 g of DM), thiamin (1.08 mg/100 g of DM), stearic acid (4.96 g/100 g of DM), oleic acid (21.87 g/100 g of DM), and linoleic acid (5.55 g/100 g of DM). All of the conventional shelling methods including oil-bath roasting, steam roasting, drying, and open pan roasting revealed a significant reduction, whereas the Flores hand-cracking method exhibited similar levels of carotenoids, thiamin, and unsaturated fatty acids in cashew nuts when compared to raw unprocessed samples.

Elucidation of unit operations and energy consumption pattern in small scale cashew nut processing mills

The different unit operations involved in small scale cashew nut processing mill in the context of Konkan region of Maharashtra, India (70°17′ to 74°31′E Longitude 15°37′ to 20°20′N Latitude) was elucidated by conducting the randomized sample survey of registered 122 small scale cashew processing mills in the region. The survey covered the unit operations performed, level and pattern of energy consumption and technologies in use for cashew nut processing. The energy consumption and production of mills was analyzed to compute the disparities in energy consumption to produce the same quantity of similar product in term of installed capacity (P), Production (Pr), percent production capacity utilization (PPCU), energy (En) and energy intensity (EI). The study revealed that, the small scale cashew nut mills in Konkan region of Maharashtra (India) widely followed steam roasting process due to better control over the process which retain the valuable CNSL in the shell as well as generate the huge quantity of shell for further utilization as a fuel. The average working days of the mills were about 227 days in the year depending on the rainy season and availability of raw cashew nut seeds. The average installed production capacity of the surveyed mills was about 9800 kg of raw cashew nut seeds per annum. The actual raw material processed by these mills was in the tune of 5833 kg per annum, which revealed the average percent plant capacity utilization of 55% only. The women workers were prominent in the small scale cashew nut processing mills. The regression analysis of relationship between energy and production revealed the best fit of the form of power law i.e. En = A · (Pr) B where “ A” is the constant and the coefficient “ B” is commonly known as the Energy Elasticity. It was observed that, the energy intensity in the cashew nut processing mills producing the similar product varied from 2.15 MJ/kg to 3.80 MJ/kg. The regression analysis of relationship between energy intensity and production revealed the best fit of the form of power law i.e. En = A · (Pr) − B . The negative exponent ‘ B’ shows a decline in the value of energy intensity with increase in production. It was observed that the frequency of the number of firms in each PPCU range is a bell-shaped curve, which clearly shows about 91 (75%) of the total samples were in PPCU range less than 65% with average energy intensity of 2.9 MJ/kg. This gives considerable scope for saving of energy with better utilization of installed production capacity in the tune of 25.84%.

Energy Option for Small Scale Cashew Nut Processing in India

Problem statement: Cashew (Anacardium Occidentale L.) is one of the important tropical crops. India processed about 11,80,000 metric tons of raw cashew nut seeds through 3650 cashew processing industries scattered in many states of country. The cashew nut processing industries are typically located in the rural and backward areas. The most significant difficulty in processing cashew nuts is that the hard outer shell, which contains the edible kernel, contains a caustic oil which can burn the skin and produce noxious fumes when heated. More recently, smaller scale factories use the steaming and cutting method. Approach: At present cashew industries facing problem of interrupted power supply which affect the economical growth of the sector. The cashew industries in India employed different unit operations/methodology for processing depend on variety of raw material, location, technological mechanization, availability of secured energy supply. Results: Large disparities in energy intensity for similar process in the cashew processing reveal the scope for energy conservation to be in the order of 30-48%. There is good scope for effective utilization of solar energy and biomass gasification technology for energy generation in the sector. Conclusion: This study deled with the elucidation of the processing operations in the small-scale cashew processing of Maharashtra with identification of energy consumption for unit operations. The energy conservation opportunities in the cashew nut processing sector were discussed in the study. The scope for utilization of renewable energy technologies like solar dryers for drying of cashew nut seed and cashew kernel were elaborated. The characterization of cashew shell waste available in the processing industry revealed the scope for thermal gasification of shell for heat generation.

Características físicas e mecânicas do endocarpo e da amêndoa da castanha de caju 'CCP 76' antes e após tratamento térmico

As características viscoelásticas da casca da castanha de caju in natura dificultam a sua decorticação por compressão. Para facilitar a abertura da casca e a liberação da amêndoa, as castanhas são submetidas à hidratação e tratamento térmico em banho de líquido da casca da castanha (LCC) a 210 ºC. Com o objetivo de conhecer o comportamento do produto, para futuros desenvolvimentos de mecanismos decorticadores, procurou-se caracterizar a castanha do clone 'CCP 76' por meio das principais dimensões, massa, volume e ensaios mecânicos do endocarpo e da amêndoa, antes e após o tratamento térmico. Os tratamentos consistiram em várias combinações de tempo de hidratação e tempo de residência em banho de LCC. Aplicou-se a metodologia de superfície de resposta para identificar o melhor tratamento. Construíram-se dispositivos de abertura manual da castanha, cisalhamento do endocarpo e penetração da amêndoa para a realização dos ensaios mecânicos. Observaram-se alterações no comprimento, na largura e na espessura, assim como na massa e no volume, antes e após os tratamentos. Os resultados do ensaio de cisalhamento do endocarpo e da rigidez da amêndoa indicam diferença entre o material in natura e o tratado termicamente. As alterações nas dimensões de massa e de volume apontam para a necessidade de uma classificação após o tratamento térmico, quando essas constituírem parâmetros relevantes no processo de decorticação. A tendência da superfície de resposta mostrou que o ensaio com 79 h de hidratação e 165 s de residência em LCC a 210 ºC foi o mais próximo da região de ótimo.

Design, Development And Performance Evaluation Of A Manual Cashew Nut Hot Oil Roasting Machine

A 300kg/hr cashew nut roasting machine, which uses charcoal as its source of heat energy, was developed. Performance evaluation of the roaster was carried out by roasting 15kg of raw cashew nut (Anarcardium occidentale) in cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) at different moisture content of the nut, roasting temperature and time. Sensory evaluation was carried out on the kernels after roasting. The result of the evaluation shows that the roaster could roast 15kg of raw cashew nut having a moisture content of 12% wet basis in 3 minutes at a roasting temperature of 130oC, once this optimum temperature was attained. Key words: Roasting, Cashew nut, moisture content, and optimum condition. Nigerian Food Journal Vol.22 2004: 183-188

When Economic Reform Goes Wrong: Cashew in Mozambique

Brookings Trade Forum 2003 (2003) 97-151 [Access article in PDF] When Economic Reform Goes Wrong: Cashew in Mozambique Margaret Mcmillan Tufts University Karen Horn Welch Stanford University Dani Rodrik Harvard University [Comments and Discussion] In a case that has become a cause célèbre for the antiglobalization movement, the World Bank prevailed on Mozambique's government in the early 1990s to liberalize the cashew sector and remove restrictions on exports of raw cashews. The World Bank hoped that resources would be allocated more efficiently and cashew farmers' incomes would be boosted. The policy was met with fierce opposition from the domestic cashew-processing industry, which ironically had just been privatized. After a decade of political strife, international controversy, and ongoing (if hesitant) reform, the consequences remain hotly contested. Each side in the debate has its favorite statistics. The World Bank points to the rise in farmgate prices, while opponents point to the processing plants in urban areas that have been shut down and thousands of workers that remain unemployed. Historically the cashew sector has been a significant part of Mozambique's economy, providing income to several million individuals across the country. In the 1960s Mozambique produced as much as half of the world's total. The sector went into a long decline thereafter, as a combination of adverse policies and civil war (1982-92) halted new tree plantings. Following [End Page 97] independence in 1975, the government banned the export of raw cashew nuts to stimulate domestic processing. Mozambique became the first African country to process cashews on a large scale. By 1980 the country had fourteen processing factories. Following World Bank advice, the government began to loosen restrictions on raw cashew production in the late 1980s. The ban on exporting raw cashews was lifted in 1991-92 and replaced with an export quota and export tax. 1 The quota was subsequently removed, and the export tax on raw nuts came down from 60 percent in 1991-92 to 14 percent in 1998-99. From the vantage point of textbook economics, the analysis of the export restriction and its removal is a straightforward exercise. A ban (or tax) on exports depresses the domestic price of raw cashews, effectively subsidizing the domestic processors for whom raw cashews are the chief input. The policy results in an inefficient allocation of resources. Raw cashew production is discouraged, and labor and capital are pulled into cashew processing where, absent externalities, their social value marginal product is lower than in other activities. The relaxation of the restrictions is therefore expected to create a double benefit. The first benefit is an efficiency gain, arising from the reversal of the adverse resource pulls mentioned above, and the second is a distributional gain, resulting from the rise in farmgate prices for the poorest households in Mozambique. This is the sort of analysis that underlies, for example, Paul Krugman's April 19, 2000, New York Times column on the subject, which took the anti-World Bank crowd to task for overlooking the pro-poor bias of the export liberalization. We show that many of the textbook implications of export liberalization were indeed realized. Farmgate prices rose, raw cashew exports increased, and resources were pulled out of cashew processing. However, even under the most favorable assumptions, the magnitude of the benefits generated by these effects were quite small, both in economic terms and in relation to the amount of time and energy that Mozambique's government spent on this question over the years. We estimate that the efficiency gains generated by the removal of the export restrictions could not have amounted to more than $6.5 million annually, or about 0.14 percent of Mozambique's GDP. The additional income accruing to the farmers was probably no greater than $5.13 million, or $5.13 a year for the average cashew-growing household. These [End Page 98] are puny amounts for a policy that was a key plank in the World Bank's reform agenda and became a serious bone of contention between the bank and Mozambique...