PNG cashew is world class

CASHEW nut grown in PNG has been tested to be in the first three grades for world quality and PNG could join Brazil, Vietnam and India as a major supplier.
A sample pack of 100kg of the kernels sent to Vietnam a month ago had at least 80% of the nuts ranking in the first three grades out of 20 quality grade categories.
The first three grades of the white whole kernels were: W180 for 265 to 395 kernels per kg, W210 for 440-465 kernels per kg, and W240 for 485-530 kernels per kg.
But this potentially promising industry can only go further if provincial governments support their province-based out-growers programme or assist locals to develop plantations, according to Cashew International (PNG) Ltd (CIL).
“Our main priority at this stage is to get provincial governments to sponsor cashew (projects) in their areas….we are hoping the local governments will get behind us.
“If they (provincial governments) want a cash crop for local villages, then they have to get behind cashew nut,” general manager for CIL (PNG), Ron Bell, said.
According to CIL, cashew being a commercial crop is versatile tree crop and could play several roles, such as eco-restoration, coastal and environmental protection, increasing income for small farmers, employment generation for rural poor, among others which was important and should also be realised by the local governments.
The sample kernels from the nuts were harvested from the company’s pilot project on 3,480ha of plantation at Launakalana in the Abau district, Central province.
According to Mr Bell, the harvest was mainly to obtain seedlings for the out-growers programme but the company decided to test the quality and the market demand and sent 100kg of raw nuts to Vietnam which proved to be in the first best categories.
“This is a trial to see how it is and if there is potential for PNG to be the biggest (supplier).
“Cashew nut is one of the costly nuts in the world. We got the world market waiting so now we have to grow the tree,” he said, adding the company’s current focus was the out-growers programme which, when completed in a year’s time, could see CIL start growing the crop for exports.
He said CIL was now starting the out-growers programme at Launakalana where 122,000 seedlings from the nursery had been planted and another 57,000 were awaiting grafting.
CIL is also looking at starting a plantation at Collingwood Bay in Tufi, Northern province, and while it is yet to find suitable space of land for a plantation it has 3,500 seedlings planted already at the identified 15ha area and another 10,000 seedlings being nursed.