Format: MS WORD | Chapter: 1-5 | Pages: 65-80 |
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF PROCESSING AND MARKETING OF CASHEW PRODUCTS IN UDENU LOCAL AREA, ENUGU STATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
This study is to determine the economic analysis of processing and marketing cashew, known as Anacardium occidental is a native of Brazil and was introduced to Mozambique and then India in the sixteenth century by the Portuguese, as a means of controlling coastal erosion. It was spread within these countries with the aid of elephants that ate the bright cashew fruits along with the attached nut. The nut was too hard to digest and was later expelled with the droppings. It was not until the nineteenth century that plantations were developed and the tree then spread to a number of other countries in africa, Asia and Latin America.(Herringtton and coulter,2014). Cashew processing using manual techniques, was started in India in the first half of the twentieth century. It was exported from there to the wealthy western markets, particularly the United States. In the 1960s some of the producing countries in East Africa began to process nuts domestically rather than sending them to India for processing. This allowed them to benefit from the sale of both processed nuts and the extracted cashew nut shell liquid. Cashew kernels are ranked as either the second or third most expensive nut trade in the United States. The four main producing regions in the world are India, Nigeria, Brazil and Tanzania. World production of cashew nut grew rapidly during 1950s and 1960s, reaching a peak of 624000 tonnes of raw nuts in 2013. Three countries India, Mozambique and Tanzania accounted for the majority of this production while smaller industries have developed in Brazil, Kenya and several other African countries. There was a total decline in world production, which continued till 1980s (The clipper, 2014). The reason for the decline is due to the decreased production in Mozambique and Tanzanian, since production in Mozambique during the late 1980s and 1990s, production picked up and continued to increase gradually.(Jaffee and Morton,2016). In 2010, to be precise, world cashew production exceeds 1.2 million tones. Asia and Africa countries produced 0.6 million and 0.4 million tones respectively (Herrington and Coulter 2014). Africans overall production steadily increased during the 1950s and 1960s until mid 1970s when it was the prime producer of cashew nuts. Then, in 1975, the production started to decline throughout the continent due to combination of some factors based on biological, political and agronomic basis(Andrighetti et al,2014).
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
Recent study found that cashews are well-known, popular and widely consumed by urban populations in Nigeria and West Africa at large. Though perhaps not everyday food, cashew kernels are a mature product in urban West African Markets associated with quality and luxury and widely available in urban settings. Indeed cashews may be consumed in certain upper-class segments of African society with greater frequency than in Europe or America due to a lack of wide range of substitution with similar associations.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The broad objective of this study is to analyze through research in the production, processing and marketing of cashew products in the study area. The specific objectives are to:
i) Identify the cashew products;
ii) Ascertain the techniques used in cashew products processing;
iii) Access the channels in which the product are marketed;
iv) Identify the problems of processing and marketing of cashew products and;
v) Make recommendation based on the findings.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This research finding was chosen for Udenu Local Government area of Enugu State as a result of the abundance of cashew producers, processors and marketers in the study area. Cashew has diverse uses and its importance can not be over emphasized. Cashew nut is a popular snack, and its rich flavour means that it is often eaten on its own, highly salted or sugared.
1.5 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
This study or researches were limited by many factors: firstly, the time allowed for this study was short compared to the volume of work requirement to bring out a comprehensive research work.
