The popularity of nuts contributes to the increasing demand for cashews on the European market. European cashew nut consumers still prefer cashew nuts as simple, roasted, salty snacks, but consumption of unsalted cashew nuts is also increasing. Plain nuts without any additions are increasingly being offered, as well as different roasting flavours. In addition, cashew nuts are increasingly being used as ingredients in fruit and nut bars, breakfast cereals, nut spreads, nut drinks, ice cream toppings, cookies and other sweets.
Cashew nuts are the kidney-shaped seeds that adhere to the bottom of the cashew apple, the fruit of the cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale). The nut itself is protected by a very strong shell, which needs to be roasted/steamed before it can be shelled. The edible part is the cashew nut kernel that is obtained after shelling. The kernel represents only around 20% of the whole cashew nut in weight. In most production countries, cashew trees have 2 or 3 flowering cycles and crop cycles during the year, depending on the weather conditions.
The cashew tree is native to north-east Brazil, but today it is grown in many areas in the world. Currently, the northern hemisphere accounts for 80% of the world’s raw cashew nuts production compared with the southern hemisphere’s 20%. The largest production area is West Africa, with Ivory Coast as the leading producer. The second‑largest producer is India, followed by East African countries (with Tanzania as the top east African producer).
Production in East and West African countries is increasing significantly, but due to a lack of processing (shelling) capacities, African producers export the majority of their crops as in-shell cashew nuts to Vietnam and India. India and Vietnam are the two largest processors of cashew nuts, and the main suppliers of the world and the European market. The processing capacity in these two countries exceeds their crops, and so they both import a lot of in-shell cashew nuts primarily from Africa, but Vietnam is increasingly importing from Cambodia too.
Production of raw cashew nut kernels is different in many production regions. After removing the in-shell nuts from the cashew apple, processing typically includes the following five steps:
The main advantage of the leading cashew nuts processors (such as Vietnam) is the large-scale production with the usage of automatic equipment. Currently, shelling capacity in Africa is limited because of the prevailing usage of manual (hand- or pedal-operated) shelling machines. Usually, one worker can cut up to 40 kg in nuts per daily shift, while processing capacities of automatic machines can go over 100 kg per hour.
On the European market, cashew nut kernels are mainly used as a roasted and salted snack. Recently, cashew nut has also become popular as an ingredient in confectionary and other food processing industries, being used in cookies, fruit and nut snacks, breakfast cereals, as butter, as a topping on ice cream and in sauces and condiments.
This study covers general information regarding the market of shelled cashew nuts in Europe that is of interest to producers in developing countries. Cashew nuts are traded under two different Harmonised System (HS) codes. The HS code for in-shell cashew nuts is 08013100, and the HS code for shelled cashew nuts (kernels) is 08013200. As the European import of in-shell cashew nuts is insignificant, this study only uses the code of cashew nut kernels for statistical analysis.
Europe is the largest importing region of cashew kernels in the world, accounting for around 35-40% of total global imports. European imports of cashew nuts increased in volume by an average of 6% in the 2016-2020 period. Virtually all imports from outside Europe come from developing countries. During 2021, imports of cashew nuts also continued to increase. In the first six months of 2021, the imported volume was 4 thousand tonnes higher than during the same period in 2020.
In the next five years, the European market for cashew nuts is likely to increase with an annual growth rate of 3-5%. Demand for cashew nuts in Europe is stable, but import quantities sometimes fluctuate due to variable production in the main supplying countries. Regular fluctuations in imports will continue to be influenced by the harvested crops and price situation rather than changes in demand.
Although the demand for cashew nuts in the European market is quite stable, it is influenced by price fluctuations. The price of cashew nuts is higher compared to the majority of other nuts on the European market. A high price can impact consumer behaviour, as they will turn to other, cheaper nuts. The high price can influence the demand for cashews by companies that use them as an ingredient for nut mixes, breakfast mixes, etc. If cashews are expensive, they will reduce the share of cashew nuts in a mix and increase the shares of cheaper nuts.
During 2021, despite the impact of COVID-19, cashew nut retail prices in Europe continued to fall, which boosted at-home consumption. On the other hand, due to lockdown measures, consumption in the industry and food service segments decreased significantly and there was a shift from eating out to eating at home. However, lockdowns, health food trends and attractive prices boosted the total consumption of cashew nuts.
Since 2016, European imports of cashew nuts have been increasing by 6% annually in quantity and 2.8% in value. This difference between growth rates in quantity and value indicates an increase in import prices. In 2020, imports reached 167 thousand tonnes. Intra-European trade in 2020 was 64 thousand tonnes. The total European trade in cashew nuts (including imports and intra-European trade) reached a value of €1.32 billion.
Intra-European trade accounts for 28% of all imports. Internal European trade consists of simple re‑exporting of imported raw cashew nut kernels, but it also includes added-value processing, such as roasting, salting and retail packing. European imports from developing countries increased by 44 thousand tonnes over the last five years, from 122 thousand tonnes in 2016 to 166 thousand tonnes in 2020.
Cashew nuts are imported to Europe throughout the whole year. However, there is a pattern, in which the first quarter sees the lowest import numbers, with quantities increasing toward the end of the year. The peak is usually reached between September and November, as a result of the increased consumption during the winter holiday season in Europe. Therefore, emerging cashew nuts suppliers should be able to have enough stocks for the larger deliveries during peak seasons.
Over the last five years, consumption has increased by an annual growth rate of 5%, with Germany and the United Kingdom as the largest markets. According to the International Nuts and Dried Fruit Council, the Netherlands has the highest per capita consumption in the world, with an estimated 2.68 kg/year in 2019.
European consumers are showing increasing awareness of nuts’ health benefits. Cashew nuts are promoted as specifically rich in iron (contributing to a strong immune system) and vitamin K (contributes to healthy blood and bones). Another driving force for the increased consumption of cashew nuts is their taste. Many European consumers find the taste of roasted cashew nuts more appealing compared to traditional European nuts such as hazelnuts or walnuts.
As Europe’s main importer and consumer of cashew nuts, Germany is an interesting focus market. Germany also provides specific opportunities for organically certified cashew nuts. Germany and the Netherlands are also important trade hubs with significant re-export of imported cashew nuts. Other European countries that are large net importers and consume most of the imported cashews are the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Belgium, Spain and Poland.
Germany is Europe’s largest importer of cashew nuts. The total German import value was €430 million in 2020; good for 32% of all EU imports. German imports increased in volume by 7.8% annually between 2016 and 2020, reaching 65 thousand tonnes in 2020.
Germany is also a large transit country for imported cashew nuts. Around 30% of all imported cashew nuts are re-exported from Germany every year to other European markets. Re-export activities are conducted by the specialised traders and agents, many of them located in Hamburg (Germany’s main port). In 2020, the main target markets for German export and re-export were France and the United Kingdom (both with a 15% export share), followed by Luxembourg (with a 7% share).
It may look surprising that Germany is re-exporting significant quantities of cashew nuts to Luxembourg, which is one of the smallest European countries with very limited consumption. The reason for this lies in the processing (roasting and shelling) capacities for cashew nuts installed in Luxemburg. A lot of the cashew nuts are processed and packed for the German retail market in Luxembourg, and then shipped back to Germany.
Currently, the German import market for cashew nuts is very concentrated, as Germany imports 63% of all its cashew nuts from Vietnam (34 thousand tonnes in 2020) and India (7 thousand tonnes), leaving relatively little space for other suppliers. In reality, these two suppliers have a much larger share because some quantities are imported from Belgium and the Netherlands, which act as transit countries for Vietnamese and Indian cashew nuts. The main reason for this strong dependence on import from Vietnam and India is the lack of processing capacities for shelling in other growing regions. This situation is typical not only for Germany but also for all other European importing countries.
Emerging developing country suppliers of cashew nuts to Germany are Indonesia, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Mozambique, Kenya, Benin and Ghana. It is expected that in the medium to long term (up to the next 10 years), African countries will significantly increase their supply of cashew nuts kernels to Germany and other European destinations. This expectation is based on the projected investment in larger-scale capacities for cashew nuts processing. Processing in several African countries is already supported by international and governmental funds.
German consumption of cashew nuts has been boosted by the healthy snacking trend. Recently, cashew nuts are also increasingly used as an ingredient in spreads and snack bars (especially organic), such as in examples in photos below. Industry sources estimate that Germany is the largest consumer of organic cashew nuts in Europe.
