Cashews Market - Forecasts from 2023 to 2028

The cashews market was valued at US$11.555 billion in 2021 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 4.38% over the forecast period to reach US$15.597 billion by 2028.   

The increasing trend towards vegan and plant-based diets is one of the major reasons pushing the market for cashews in the projected period. An increasing number of cashew-infused products are available in the market which is attracting the younger generation and health-conscious people to give them a try. Further, growing government initiatives are propelling the market. For instance, in June 2023, Invest India, a division of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry launched a series of initiatives that are aimed at promoting local products and uplifting the cashew and feni industries in Goa, India. These measures are taken for support by the Government of Goa during the One District One Product (ODOP) Sampark program held in Panaji, Goa.

Companies see a huge potential in the market are hence are investing a large sum in processing. For instance, Julius Berger, which is a Nigerian Construction Firm commissioned an ultra-modern cashew processing plant in Epe, Lagos, in September 2022.  The development will help the company to enter into agriculture produce processing along with improved cashew processing capacity of the country. 

Growing production of cashews and increased imports

The demand for cashews is growing in developed countries. For instance, according to the CBI, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 2021 imports for cashews reached 215 thousand tonnes, with intra-European trade accounting for 59 thousand tonnes and imports from developing countries accounting for 155 thousand tonnes. The total European trade in cashew including intra-European trade and imports reached a value of 1.3 billion pounds. Additionally, the main consumer of cashews in the European Union are countries such as Germany with annual consumption of 38,809 tonnes in 2021, followed by the United Kingdom with 22,503 tonnes, and the Netherlands with 19,444 tonnes among other countries. Hence, such increased imports for cashews are propelling the market for cashews in the projected period.

 According to the Indian Trade Portal, cashew is one of the economically significant industries in India and employ more than 10 lakh people in farms and factories in India. The cultivation of cashews covers 0.7 million hectares in the country and produced 0.70 million tonnes in 2019-20 and the production increased to 0.77 million tonnes in 2021-22. The main cashew cultivation spread along India is in states such as Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu among others. Moreover, the country is the largest cashew exporter with more than 15% of the world’s export share. During 2020-21 the cashew export value grew from US$420 million to US$452 million in 2021-22. Hence, such increased production and imports can be one of the major reasons for market growth in the projected period.

India in APAC is predicted to hold the largest market share for the market

India is one of the leading cashew producers globally, and according to the International Society for Horticultural Science, the country accounts for approximately 25.52% of the global cashew production . Cashews are considered as one of the major snack foods which can be consumed either raw or roasted. Moreover, due to their rich flavour cashews are also consumed in confectionery & dairy products such as sweets and ice creams. The bolstering growth in such a major application, coupled with India’s rapid population growth has positively impacted the country’s cashew production scale. For instance, according to the National Horticulture Board, in 2021, India’s cashew production stood at 729.80 thousand tonnes which represented an increase of 4.8% over 2020’s production volume of 696.10 thousand tonnes.

Furthermore, the well-established presence of major cashew companies in India such as Western India Cashew Company coupled with launches of new hybrid cashew varieties in India are expected to propel the country's market growth. For instance, in September 2021, the Directorate of Cashew Research introduced a new hybrid variety of cashews namely “Nethra Jumbo-1”. 

Additionally, India is also one of the major cashew exporters and owing to the growing international demand for such nuts, the export scale of India has also increased. For instance, according to the India Trade Portal (Ministry of Commerce & Industry), in March 2022, India exported cashews worth US$40 million which signified a 19% increase in exports over February’s exports in the same year.  Such an increase in exports will act as an additional driving factor as it positively impacts the cashew production scale in India. 

Segmentation:

By Distribution Channel

• Online
• Offline

By End-User Industry

• Bakery and Confectionary
• Breakfast Cereals
• Dairy Products and Flavored Drinks
• Snacks

By Geography

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Others
• Europe
• United Kingdom
• Germany
• France
• Spain
• Others
• Middle East and Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE
• Israel
• Others
• Asia Pacific
• Japan
• China
• India
• South Korea
• Indonesia
• Thailand
• Others