United Kingdom
When are Cashew Nuts Harvested?
How are cashew nuts harvested? When and where does this happen? KODGAV distribute's raw or roasted organic and Non-GMO cashew nuts in the UK.
Why are cashew nuts expensive?
Wondered why cashew nuts are so expensive? Learn about the intensive process to get these tasty nuts packed and ready to be consumed all over the world.
Kodgav UK
Aug 27, 2021
Wondering why cashew nuts are so expensive?
If you're in the mood to have a nutty snack, then cashews nuts are extremely difficult to resist. But these nutty snacks could leave a hole in your wallet over time.
Cashews nuts are considered one of the most delicious and expensive nuts around the globe, other examples are almonds and pistachios. Surprisingly peanuts and cashews have the same creamy texture, but cashews nuts are five times more expensive than peanuts.
Keep reading to find out why cashew nuts are so expensive!
1. The Growing climate
Cashews can only be grown in tropical countries, like India, Brazil, and some African countries. So the cashew nuts you get in first world countries are always mostly imported, this is where supply and demand issues stem from.
For example, in 2016-17 Cashews nuts producing countries reported a poor harvest season for raw cashews nuts. On the other hand, in 2016, cashew nut demand increase by 6.1% compared to the previous year. This leads to high demand and low supply issues [supply chain volatility], which ultimately leads to spikes in cashew but prices.
2. Labor intensive Procedure
Cashews nuts grow on trees; a single nut is attached to the bottom of the fruit, known as cashew apple. The cashew tree takes up to 3 months to develop one cashew apple. To harvest the nut from the apple, it has to be done manually, which makes it a labour-intensive and time-consuming process.
After harvesting is completed, these nuts are dried and toasted to remove the outer shell. The cashew's outer hull is cracked manually to reveal the raw nuts.
3. Challenges in the processing industry
Cashews nuts required a careful and proper processing procedure to make them fit for consumption. Most of this process is carried out manually, which makes it a harder and time-consuming process. Cashews possess a poisonous substance inside their shells, same as poison ivy, which can be proved as dangerous to the working labourer. The poison can damage the skin of the workers so working labourers rub oil on their hands to protect them from the poisonous substance. After this process, cashews nuts are toasted to eliminate the toxins from the nuts.
Roasting cashews is also a dangerous process as toxins are released into the air. After roasting, the nuts are then graded and sorted by sizes and colours i.e WW320 or WW240 (whole whites grade).
Cashew nuts are dried to eliminate the extra moisture, which makes the pealing process easy. In the end, the outer kernel is removed manually one by one to reveal the final product. All this process is mostly carried out by hand in the producing countries and involves intensive labour which makes cashews nuts so expensive than other nuts.
Conclusion
Well, cashews are indeed expensive but they are delicious too!
Cashews are also great for your health, check out our blog on cashew health benefits.
However, no matter how many times you choose to eat them, there is no denying their deliciousness and snack value. So if you are looking for the best place to buy them in bulk, then KODGAV is the right place.
Check out how you can access cashew nuts without price spikes!