The African Cashew Alliance (ACA), led by its Board President, Mr. Ibrahim Sanfo, participated in the 2026 World Cashew Conference, held in Dubia from 30th January to 1st February 2026.
Held under the theme “Navigating the New Normal in Global Cashew Trade Flow,” the Conference brought together cashew industry leaders and stakeholders across the world, with the ACA playing an active role in key discussions on the future of the industry.
On the first day of the conference, the ACA took part in a high-level closed-door meeting involving senior government officials, development partners and private sector leaders. The meeting facilitated strategic exchanges between cashew producing, processing and buying countries, providing a platform to better national priorities, align expectations, and explore opportunities for collaboration to shape the future of the global cashew industry.
Mr Sanfo also participated in a high-powered panel discussion on the topic, “What do Governments Want for Their Cashew Sector from the Value Chain; and what can they offer? In his remarks, he highlighted Africa’s key role priorities for the cashew industry.
“Africa’s current priorities are to increase its production, improve income for our hard-working producers, create more jobs through local value addition and industrialization, and enhance foreign exchange for governments,” he said.
He emphasized that achieving these objectives would require collective action and a clear regional strategy, supported by strong commitment from international partners.
According to him, critical actions include scaling up local cashew processing, promoting domestic consumption by highlighting the nutritional and health benefits of cashew, building the capacity of industry players, creating enabling policy and regulatory environments for sustainable investment, and establishing a comprehensive database of industry actors.
Mr. Sanfo reaffirmed the ACA’s commitment to working closely with governments, development partners and the private sector stakeholders to advance these priorities.
“As the cashew industry alliance, the ACA remains committed to fostering collaboration across the value chain to build s sustainable and competitive cashew industry that delivers working together with industry players, development partners and governments to build a sustainable and competitive cashew industry that benefits all actors.
In addition, Mr. Sanfo used the platform to announce that the 2026 ACA Annual Cashew Conference and Expo will be held in Accra, Ghana from 22nd to 25th September 2026. The conference, the largest cashew event in Africa, will bring together global stakeholders to discuss industry challenges, explore new opportunities, strengthen partnerships and mobilize investment towards building a more competitive and sustainable African cashew industry.
SOURCE : African Cashew Alliance (ACA)
