It was
reported that Nigeria would be exporting roasted cashew nuts worth $7 billion
to Walmart, the biggest supermarket
chain in the United States. The report credited to the Minister of Agriculture
and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe,
said the demand is about 130,000 tonnes
of cashew nuts per annum. The link below shows all the steps and processes
involved in cashew nut export and that of all other non-oil products:
Presently
Nigeria ships raw cashew to Vietnam,
where it is roasted and shipped to the US during which process, Nigeria loss
about N380 billion. Though the Minister has said that Nigeria would build six
cashew processing factories to be sited in Enugu,
Imo, Benue, Kogi, Kwara and Oyo States,
which are the cashew belts for now to meet up with the Walmart demand, there
are more big stores as well as other African shops in the diaspora, including
local stores in Nigeria that will take up the stock.
Indeed
with the nation’s focus on non-oil export, this is a goldmine for any investor
who may wish to catch up on the opportunity now available in the processing and
packaging of cashew nuts. Nigeria is one of the top ten producers of cashew in
the world. Cashew is a smallholder crop and supplements the incomes of
thousands of farmers across 18 states of the federation. By far, the U.S is the
largest buyer of cashew kernels followed by the Netherlands.
Raw
cashew nuts and cashew nut shell liquid are the two main products that have a
great demand in international market. There are other two cashew products
namely cashew kennels and cashew apples. Cashew kennels are also sold in world
market; the USA is the leading consumer of it. The raw cashew nuts need to be
processed for consumption. Before processing, they are dried in the sun for 2-3
days to lower the moisture content of the nut. It is then stored in the gunny
bags.
However,
investor can begin with a medium-scale cashew nut processing and the investment
can bring a large profit by selling a large quantity of processed cashew to the
retailers. It is true that it would need relatively big start-up capital to set
up the plant. It is one-time investment but can generate continuous revenue if
everything goes well. For starting a cashew nut processing business, it is
important to be familiar with few technical details, which include:
REGISTRATION
Registration
is very vital as it gives identity to the products as well as the company
behind the products. It equally protects the products from adulterated. So
while beginning the business of a cashew processing, you will require acquiring
numerous registrations as well as licenses from the Government and its
agencies, both at the national and state. For example, the Corporate Affairs
Commission (CAC), National Agency for Food, Drugs and Control Agencies (NAFDAC)
and others. You may also protect the brand name of your cashew processing
company by way of Trademark Registration.
BUSINESS SUPPORT
The
investment in the food processing can be either done through personal funding
or you may take the loan from any commercial banks or Micro Finance banks.
MARKET PROSPECT
The
demand for the cashew nut is growing speedily all over the world and there are
so many countries that indulge in producing, processing, consuming and
exporting of cashew nuts. It is one of the significant agricultural products
that are imported and exported in many countries. So, if you start a
small-scale cashew nut processing business, then it is quite obvious that you
will have very bright future in this trade. In fact, some nations also support
small businessmen who want to expand their cashew nut processing business on
the large scale.
EQUIPMENT AND
SETUP OF MACHINERY
You must have the possession of a land
evaluating around 500 sqm and that will be adequate for your small-scale cashew
nut processing unit. The location must be smoothed and also possess an open
space to dry out cashews in the sun. You must check the availability of nearby
labor and the market where you will sell your product. All this matters a lot
while calculating the total cost of processing. But the main raw material is
cashew nuts.
The
following however are some important machinery and equipment that are required
for the cashew nut processing business: Cooking containers; Semi-automatic
shedding appliance; Steam reservoir; Multi-shade cashew nut categorization
machine; Husk sorting machine; Vapour tube; Hot furnace and Hand functioned
cutting equipment; Cashew flaking machine; Cashew nut filling machine;
Fragments strainer; Set of scales and Shutting machine. It is compulsory that
you packed your final product in a humidity proof as well as airtight packets.
You will also require obtaining the wrapping replaceable for cashew processing
unit.
ARRANGEMENT OF
CAPITAL
A
maximum share of the capital will be required for acquiring a place for rent
for the operation of the business and for the purchases of the different
equipment. You also need to have sufficient capital in hand for the purchase of
raw materials and for the payment of labor’s salary.
If you
don’t have enough savings for starting the capital, you can take financial
assistance from the banks. The new government policies are very helpful for
small scale business to get financial loan from bank. You need to prepare a
well-crafted business plan which will show the entire planning of yours to run
the business and how you will make profit from the invested capital. With a
good business plan you can get loan even without any kind of collateral
deposits.
PROMOTION
Marketing
and promotion is an important step for the success of the business. Promotion
of business helps to reach out to customers in the market. You need to promote
your business from the day you have finalized to start the cashew processing
business. It will help to spread the message and you will get a good amount of
clients at the time of your first unit of production is completed.
Along
with the traditional ways of promotion, you can also take the modern way of
digital marketing to promote your business. Opening a personal website for your
business will help you to get connected with customers from worldwide. You can
also sell your items online. Using social media sites like Facebook, twitters
and others is also a great option to promote your business free of cost.
However,
have you heard this? Many Nigerian exporters have been defrauded of huge amount
of money in the process of exporting commodities to foreign countries. Do you
know why? They were not trained on export operations, management,
documentations and the best methods of payment in export trade. This is
terrible!!! Nigerians cannot continue to lose money to foreigners in the course
of export business. Exporters, why don’t you get a practical manual that
teaches the stages of export trade from processing and packaging of commodities
to receipt of payment by the foreign buyers. It teaches export operations,
export management, export documentations and methods of payment in export
trade? It is a contemporary step-by-step guide to export trade. It tells all
the contemporary dynamics in export trade. To get it, click on the link below:
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