CASHEWS
The cashew is a kidney-shaped nut originally from Brazil. Portuguese explorers encountered them in the 16th century and spread them to India and other tropical regions of the world. Today. The nuts sold in the United States are mainly roasted in oil and salted. Many are grown in Ivory Coast and India.
The cashew apple is the yellowish-orange fruit in which cashew nuts are found. Although it is known mainly for its nut, the "fruit" sold for eating on a swollen stem in some places. It has a very thin skin-green when unripe and turns to yellow, pink, or more rarely, bright scarlet, when ripe. The ripe fruit is sweet, crisp and juicy with a faint rose perfume. The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is a tropical evergreen tree can grow as high as 14 meters (46 feet), but the dwarf cultivars, growing up to 6 meters (20 feet), prove more profitable, with earlier maturity and greater yields.
The nut shell and raw seed of cashews are toxic, but the nut is edible once shelled and roasted or steamed. The pulp and juice of cashew apples is sometimes processed into a sweet, astringent fruit drink or fermented and distilled into liquor. Derivatives from the shell are used in products such as varnishes, lubricant, and paints.
Raw cashew kernels contain about 5 percent water, 30 percent carbohydrates, 44 percent fat, and 18 percent protein. A 100-gram (3.5-ounce) serving provides about 553 calories and is a good source of several minerals, B vitamins, and vitamin K.
Cashew Trees and Fruits
Cashew trees are large and evergreen and can grow as tall as 14 meters (46 feet). The dwarf cultivars, growing up to 6 meters (20 feet), are the most profitable, maturing sooner and producing greater yields. [Source: Wikipedia]
Cashew trees have short, often irregularly shaped trunks and broad, spreading crowns. Their leaves are thick, leathery, and arranged in a spiral pattern. The leaves are elliptical to obovate in shape, measuring 4–22 centimeters (1½–8¾ inches) long and 2–15 centimeters (¾–6 inches) wide, with smooth edges. The flowers grow in branching clusters up to 26 centimeters (10 inches) long. Each flower is small, with five narrow petals that are pale green when they first open and gradually turn reddish. The world's largest cashew tree is in Parnamirim, Brazil, where it covers about 7,500 square meters (81,000 square feet).
The fleshy, pear-shaped structure commonly called the cashew apple is not the true fruit but an accessory fruit that develops from the flower stalk and receptacle. It ripens to a yellow or red color and measures about 5–11 centimeters (2–4¼ inches) long.
The true fruit is the kidney-shaped drupe attached to the end of the cashew apple. It develops first, after which the flower stalk enlarges to form the cashew apple. Inside the drupe is a single seed enclosed in a hard shell. This seed is the cashew "nut" commonly eaten around the world.
The seed is protected by a double shell containing anacardic acid, a caustic phenolic resin that can cause severe skin irritation. This compound is chemically related to urushiol, the allergenic oil found in poison ivy and the lacquer tree. Because of this, raw cashew shells must be carefully processed before the edible kernel can be safely consumed.
Cashew Cultivation and Processing
Cashew trees are grown in tropical regions between 25° north and 25° south latitude. They are well adapted to hot, lowland areas with a distinct dry season, where crops such as mangoes and tamarinds also thrive.
Traditional cashew trees can grow up to 14 meters (46 feet) tall. They usually begin producing nuts about three years after planting and reach full commercial production after about eight years. Traditional orchards typically produce around 0.25 metric tons of nuts per hectare.
Modern dwarf varieties grow to about 6 meters (20 feet) tall and begin producing within the first year, reaching commercial yields after about three years. They can produce more than 1 metric ton of nuts per hectare. Grafting and improved orchard management have further increased yields in commercial production.
Between 2000 and 2019, most cashews produced in Africa were exported as raw nuts rather than processed kernels, limiting their value. Organizations such as the African Cashew Alliance have promoted local processing to increase income and strengthen the region's cashew industry.
Cashew nutshell liquid (CNSL) is a natural resin found in the shell surrounding the nut. It contains compounds that can irritate the skin and must be handled carefully during processing. After refining, CNSL is used to manufacture industrial products such as resins, coatings, adhesives, friction materials, epoxy hardeners, and composite materials. It has also been used in wood preservatives and some traditional medicinal applications.
Foods and Drinks with Cashews
Cashews are widely used in Indian cooking. Whole cashews are added to curries, rice dishes, and desserts, while ground cashews are used to make rich sauces for dishes such as korma and to prepare sweets such as kaju barfi. Cashew powder is also an ingredient in many Indian desserts. In Goa, both raw and roasted cashews are commonly used in curries and sweets.
Cashews are also popular in Thai and Chinese cuisine, where they are usually served whole in stir-fries and other savory dishes. In the Philippines, cashews are a specialty of Antipolo and are often eaten with suman, a sticky rice cake. Pampanga is known for turrones de casuy, a confection made from cashew marzipan wrapped in thin white wafers. In Indonesia, roasted and salted cashews are known as kacang mete or kacang mede.
Demand for plant-based dairy alternatives has increased cashew cultivation in several African countries, where cashews are processed into cashew milk. In Mozambique and neighboring South Africa, powdered cashews are used to make bolo polana, a cake prepared with mashed potatoes.
The cashew apple is also used to produce alcoholic beverages. In Goa, India, the juice is fermented and distilled to make feni, a traditional spirit containing about 40–42 percent alcohol. A single-distilled version, known as urrak, contains about 15 percent alcohol. In Tanzania, dried and fermented cashew apples are distilled into a strong liquor called gongo.
Cashew Producing Countries
In 2024, world production of cashews (in shell) was 4.2 million tonnes, led by Ivory Coast and India, which combined for 41 percent of the world’s total. In 2023, 3.9 million tons of cashew nuts were harvested globally, again led by the Ivory Coast and India. Half of the world's cashews were sold by American retailer Costco, as of 2025. [Source: Wikipedia
World’s Top Producers of Cashew Nuts, with Shell (2020): 1) Côte d'Ivoire: 848700 tonnes; 2) India: 772779 tonnes; 3) Vietnam: 348504 tonnes; 4) Burundi: 300910 tonnes; 5) Philippines: 255915 tonnes; 6) Tanzania: 232681 tonnes; 7) Benin: 190000 tonnes; 8) Mali: 173207 tonnes; 9) Burkina Faso: 162105 tonnes; 10) Guinea-Bissau: 160630 tonnes; 11) Brazil: 139921 tonnes; 12) Indonesia: 131872 tonnes; 13) Mozambique: 128225 tonnes; 14) Nigeria: 98809 tonnes; 15) Ghana: 82420 tonnes; 16) Sri Lanka: 33655 tonnes; 17) Thailand: 24320 tonnes; 18) Guinea: 20856 tonnes; 19) Malaysia: 16148 tonnes; 20) Kenya: 12668 tonnes. [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]
World’s Top Producers (in terms of value) of Cashew Nuts, with Shell (2019): 1) Côte d'Ivoire: Int.$736369,000 ; 2) India: Int.$690220,000 ; 3) Vietnam: Int.$263202,000 ; 4) Burundi: Int.$263202,000 ; 5) Philippines: Int.$225115,000 ; 6) Tanzania: Int.$209115,000 ; 7) Benin: Int.$189789,000 ; 8) Mali: Int.$155714,000 ; 9) Guinea-Bissau: Int.$154385,000 ; 10) Brazil: Int.$128897,000 ; 11) Burkina Faso: Int.$126857,000 ; 12) Indonesia: Int.$124651,000 ; 13) Mozambique: Int.$99536,000 ; 14) Nigeria: Int.$92896,000 ; 15) Ghana: Int.$79856,000 ; 16) Sri Lanka: Int.$32561,000 ; 17) Guinea: Int.$19814,000 ; 18) Thailand: Int.$16802,000 ; 19) Malaysia: Int.$15506,000 [An international dollar (Int.$) buys a comparable amount of goods in the cited country that a U.S. dollar would buy in the United States.]
World’s Top Producers of Cashewapple (2020): 1) Brazil: 1104130 tonnes; 2) Mali: 173207 tonnes; 3) Madagascar: 77178 tonnes; 4) Guyana: 5 tonnes [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]
Cashew Exporting Countries
World’s Top Exporters of Cashew Nuts, without Shell (2020): 1) Vietnam: 463591 tonnes; 2) India: 51605 tonnes; 3) Netherlands: 40177 tonnes; 4) Germany: 21049 tonnes; 5) Cote d’Ivoire: 19896 tonnes; 6) Brazil: 15456 tonnes; 7) United Arab Emirates: 13445 tonnes; 8) Mozambique: 9973 tonnes; 9) Indonesia: 6777 tonnes; 10) Nigeria: 5627 tonnes; 11) Belgium: 5112 tonnes; 12) Belarus: 4521 tonnes; 13) Tanzania: 4137 tonnes; 14) Ghana: 3456 tonnes; 15) United States: 3242 tonnes; 16) Burkina Faso: 2514 tonnes; 17) Myanmar: 2438 tonnes; 18) United Kingdom: 1705 tonnes; 19) Turkey: 1520 tonnes; 20) Spain: 1325 tonnes [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]
World’s Top Exporters (in value terms) of Cashew Nuts, without Shell (2020): 1) Vietnam: US$2843195,000; 2) India: US$404228,000; 3) Netherlands: US$317578,000; 4) Germany: US$200914,000; 5) Cote d’Ivoire: US$102108,000; 6) Brazil: US$90666,000; 7) United Arab Emirates: US$80766,000; 8) Indonesia: US$43912,000; 9) Belgium: US$30062,000; 10) Mozambique: US$28944,000; 11) Nigeria: US$27808,000; 12) Tanzania: US$24140,000; 13) United States: US$19727,000; 14) Ghana: US$17911,000; 15) Myanmar: US$17719,000; 16) Burkina Faso: US$14961,000; 17) United Kingdom: US$12368,000; 18) Thailand: US$11693,000; 19) Canada: US$11570,000; 20) Italy: US$11418,000
World’s Top Exporters of Cashew Nuts, with Shell (2020): 1) Cote d’Ivoire: 554729 tonnes; 2) Ghana: 298992 tonnes; 3) Tanzania: 237426 tonnes; 4) Cambodia: 220863 tonnes; 5) Nigeria: 184205 tonnes; 6) Guinea-Bissau: 100342 tonnes; 7) Benin: 86602 tonnes; 8) Indonesia: 77397 tonnes; 9) Burkina Faso: 59669 tonnes; 10) Senegal: 40699 tonnes; 11) Mozambique: 37697 tonnes; 12) Guinea: 35892 tonnes; 13) India: 15318 tonnes; 14) Netherlands: 6885 tonnes; 15) Togo: 6840 tonnes; 16) Thailand: 5296 tonnes; 17) Mali: 3172 tonnes; 18) Myanmar: 3050 tonnes; 19) Gambia: 1978 tonnes; 20) Madagascar: 1639 tonnes
World’s Top Exporters (in value terms) of Cashew Nuts, with Shell (2020): 1) Cote d’Ivoire: US$546405,000; 2) Tanzania: US$323197,000; 3) Ghana: US$304162,000; 4) Cambodia: US$253079,000; 5) Nigeria: US$164039,000; 6) Guinea-Bissau: US$114767,000; 7) Indonesia: US$102363,000; 8) Benin: US$55692,000; 9) Burkina Faso: US$53262,000; 10) Mozambique: US$44744,000; 11) Senegal: US$38594,000; 12) Netherlands: US$33354,000; 13) Guinea: US$31862,000; 14) India: US$20279,000; 15) Myanmar: US$11463,000; 16) Thailand: US$4288,000; 17) Togo: US$3718,000; 18) United Arab Emirates: US$2938,000; 19) Mali: US$2149,000; 20) Gambia: US$977,000
Cashew Importing Countries
World’s Top Importers of Cashew Nuts, without Shell (2020): 1) United States: 167008 tonnes; 2) Germany: 64790 tonnes; 3) Netherlands: 58473 tonnes; 4) China: 26851 tonnes; 5) Vietnam: 25302 tonnes; 6) United Kingdom: 22317 tonnes; 7) United Arab Emirates: 18792 tonnes; 8) Australia: 18300 tonnes; 9) France: 14540 tonnes; 10) Canada: 13332 tonnes; 11) Italy: 13122 tonnes; 12) Japan: 11592 tonnes; 13) Russia: 10818 tonnes; 14) Thailand: 10656 tonnes; 15) Belgium: 10041 tonnes; 16) Turkey: 9296 tonnes; 17) Spain: 8763 tonnes; 18) Poland: 7866 tonnes; 19) Saudi Arabia: 6767 tonnes; 20) Israel: 5556 tonnes [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]
World’s Top Importers (in value terms) of Cashew Nuts, without Shell (2020): 1) United States: US$1103242,000; 2) Germany: US$490921,000; 3) Netherlands: US$413303,000; 4) China: US$151171,000; 5) United Kingdom: US$150007,000; 6) Vietnam: US$141786,000; 7) France: US$119936,000; 8) Australia: US$110882,000; 9) United Arab Emirates: US$110019,000; 10) Canada: US$95169,000; 11) Japan: US$90250,000; 12) Italy: US$73024,000; 13) Spain: US$71420,000; 14) Belgium: US$66027,000; 15) Thailand: US$65854,000; 16) Poland: US$60037,000; 17) Turkey: US$48519,000; 18) Saudi Arabia: US$47184,000; 19) Russia: US$45231,000; 20) Israel: US$39003,000
World’s Top Importers (in value terms) of Cashew Nuts, with Shell (2020): 1) Vietnam: 1418765,000; 2) India: 1086928,000; 3) Saudi Arabia: 23936,000; 4) Ghana: 17450,000; 5) China: 15881,000; 6) Belgium: 3159,000; 7) Cambodia: 2713,000; 8) Netherlands: 1461,000; 9) United States: 1166,000; 10) Oman: 990,000; 11) Nigeria: 953,000; 12) United Kingdom: 816,000; 13) Sri Lanka: 755,000; 14) United Arab Emirates: 647,000; 15) South Africa: 581,000; 16) Egypt: 576,000; 17) Bahrain: 514,000; 18) Israel: 478,000; 19) Norway: 469,000; 20) Canada: 442,000
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: Food and Agriculture Organization, Wikipedia., New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, Lonely Planet Guides, and various books and other publications.
Last updated July 2026