Abidjan 2009

Stakeholders from all parts of the cashew value chain came together with industry experts, investors and bankers to discuss the future of the cashew industry at the 4th ACA Annual Conference, themed “Value and Efficiency”, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 1-3 September 2009. 

For the first time, this year's conference featured a business-to-business forum, enabling participants to present their companies to numerous prospective partners in face-to-face meetings.

More than 230 participants attended the conference, almost double last year's attendance. More than 100 came from African countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, the Gambia and Uganda. Stakeholders also came from Brazil, Germany, India, Italy, Singapore, Spain, the Netherlands, United States and Vietnam.

A range of workshops addressed the key issues facing the cashew industry in Africa, including business planning and credit applications, post-harvest handling of raw cashew nuts, and food safety in cashew processing. The event concluded with field trips to a processing plant, the Abidjan port and its cashew warehouses.

ACA members can see a full list of Festival participants here.