An enormous possibility in the cultivation of cashew nut, the high-value cash crop, has emerged in Bangladesh that will create far-reaching impacts on the agriculture of the country. The government has undertaken many projects to boost the cultivation of cashew nut.
The country can earn huge amount of foreign currency by exporting this high-value agriculture crop.
The present agriculture-friendly government is emphasizing on various innovative agricultural technologies to make the country self-sufficient in food as well as to transform agriculture into a more sustainable and commercial sector. As a result of the relentless work of the Ministry of Agriculture and institutions associated with agriculture, the production of all types of agricultural products in the country is increasing rapidly.
The Ministry of Agriculture has taken effective steps to cultivate high-value crops in the country and one such potential high value crop is cashew nut. Cashew nuts have great demand in the international market due to the abundance of protein, various essential vitamins and minerals as well as medicinal properties in it and the demand is increasing day by day.
The developed countries of the world depend mainly on the developing and underdeveloped countries of Asia and Africa for this nutritious agricultural product as its cultivation is limited to these two continents.
Cashew nuts currently have an international market value of about 14.9 billion dollars of which Vietnam alone exports 4 billion dollars worth of cashew nut. Vietnam produced 2.83 lakh tonnes of raw cashew nut in 2019. But as the country developed the facility of processing this high-value crop, now it imports raw cashew nuts from African countries, processes them and supplies that to the international market. Vietnam plans to export 10.5 billion dollars worth of cashew nuts by 2030.
The total area of the three hill districts of Bangladesh -- Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachhari -- is 13,34,400 hectares. Only 5 percent of which is flat agricultural land and the rest is hilly area. These areas have all the characteristics of soil, temperature and rainfall that is required for the cultivation of cashew nut. There is scope of cashew nut cultivation in at least 22 per cent of the land in the three hill districts. Besides, the soil in other border hilly areas of the country is also conducive for the cultivation of cashew nut.
In 1961-1962, the Chattogram Hill Tracts Development Board and the Agricultural Extension Department planted some cashew nut saplings collected from Africa along with other fruit saplings in the hill areas. But due to lack of marketing and processing opportunities, many farmers cut them down.
Later, the local wholesalers collected raw cashew nuts from the farmers and started exporting them to India. As a result, the local farmers became interested in cultivating cashew nuts again. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, in 2018-2019, the production of raw cashew nut in the country was 962 metric tonnes, which increased to 1,323 metric tonnes in 2019-2020.
The Department of Agricultural Extension has started a project worth Tk 148 crore to increase the production of cashew nuts. Through this project, 10,000 hectares of land will come under cashew nuts cultivation and after its completion in 2025, the country will produce 25,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts a year.
The Ministry of Agriculture is committed to exporting 1.0billion dollar worth of processed cashew nuts in the next few years.
Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture has undertaken another project worth Tk 211 crore titled ‘Cashew nuts and coffee research, development and expansion’. In order to facilitate the processing of cashew nuts in the country and to develop the processing industry, the import duty on raw cashew nuts has been reduced from 90 percent to only 5 percent.
The few cashew nut processing plants that have already been set up in Bangladesh and the current production of local cashew nuts are not enough for the factories. It is now possible to earn huge amount of foreign currency by exporting processed cashews by collecting raw cashew nuts from different countries of Asia and Africa.
The price of raw almonds in the international market is Tk 90 to Tk 130. It is impossible for the factories set up in the country to earn billions of dollars by exporting processed cashew nuts through the import of raw cashews nuts.
Experienced policy makers of the Ministry of Agriculture, concerned departments and research institutes are working relentlessly to increase agricultural production, as well as for the commercialization of agriculture.
