30,000MT Cashew Processing Unit is Inaugurated in Côte d’Ivoire

Officials including President of Côte d’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara tour the new Olam cashew processing facility (photo copyright Olam)

On Thursday 23 February, Olam International inaugurated its new cashew processing plant in Bouake, Côte d’Ivoire. This fully mechanized plant has a processing capacity of 30,000MT, which makes it one of the largest single cashew processing units in the world. The factory will employ 2,400 people when running at full capacity, of whom 60% will be women. The company invested US$ 30 Million in the facility, which will multiply by six the processing capacity of Côte d’Ivoire, the largest producer of cashew in the world.  

At the factory’s inauguration, Olam CEO Sunny George Verghese announced that Olam plans to invest in two new cashew processing plants in the near future in Côte d’Ivoire, one in Khorogo and one in Bondoukou for a total investment of US$ 60 Million. In his speech, Mr. Verghese said, “Olam is committing to supporting a sustainable cashew value chain. Through our ongoing farmer linkage program with the African Cashew Initiative and GiZ under the auspices of African Cashew Alliance, the new factory will improve the livelihood of approximately 30,000 cashew farmers.” Farmers will be trained in good agricultural practices and be assured of a stable local market offering a fair price for their product.