Strengthening local processing of cashew nuts is emerging as one of the axes of economic cooperation between Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea Bissau. On July 15, 2026, in Abidjan, the Ivorian Minister of Commerce, Industry and Crafts, Ibrahim Kalil Konaté, received his Guinea-Bissau counterpart, Jaimentino Có, who came to draw inspiration from the Ivorian experience in the development of the cashew sector. The two officials agreed to set up a technical commission responsible for defining the terms of cooperation which should lead to the establishment of a joint commission between the two countries. During the discussions, Minister Kalil Konaté presented the reforms undertaken for several years to develop local cashew processing. He reaffirmed the government's availability to share its expertise in order to support Guinea Bissau in strengthening its value chain. His counterpart, for his part, indicated that his country intends to rely on good Ivorian practices to accelerate the industrialization of this sector.

Local transformation at the heart of the Ivorian model

Ivory Coast has been the world's leading cashew nut producer for several years. According to the Cotton and Cashew Council, national production regularly exceeds 1.2 million tonnes, or nearly 40% of global supply. Long exported in raw form, this production is now the subject of a local processing policy supported by industrial investments, a reinforced regulatory framework and incentive measures intended for operators. Data from the Cotton, Cashew and Shea Council indicate that more than 350,000 tonnes of nuts are now processed each year in Ivory Coast, compared to less than 100,000 tonnes ten years ago. This development has favored the creation of several tens of thousands of jobs, mainly in production regions, and contributes to increasing the added value generated by the sector.

Promoting cooperation for agricultural sectors

For Guinea Bissau, where cashew nuts represent between 85 and 95% of export revenues according to the World Bank and the FAO, the development of local processing constitutes a major economic issue. The country still exports most of its harvest in raw form, thus limiting income from this production. The cooperation initiated with Côte d'Ivoire could allow the sharing of expertise in terms of governance of the sector, training of stakeholders, installation of industrial units and improvement of value chains.  class="ql-align-justify">