Industry players in the cashew value chain say the industry is under severe pressure as a result of restrictions brought on it globally by the COVID-19 pandemic.
They say the shutdown of export markets like Vietnam and India is having a devastating impact on the livelihood of thousands of cashew farmers locally.
They observe that early this year, the international market price of cashew was about 1,500 dollars per tonne but it is now pegged at about 950 dollars, a 63 percent fall.
In an interview on the challenges, smallholder farmers are facing and how policymakers are responding, the industry players said a lot of them are struggling to break-even after contracting loans to invest in their productions.
The General Secretary of Cashew Buyers and Exporters Association of Ghana, Justice Mahama Ansomah, said the situation is heartbreaking.
Member of the Cashew Council of Ghana and President of the Association of Cashew Processors Ghana, Ed-Malvin Nii Ayibonte Smith said its time government turns its attention to local processing and preservation.
