A cashew factory in Techiman that can process 100 tonnes of raw nuts a day is due to be commissioned by President John Dramani Mahama on Monday 16 November, the state-owned Ghana Export-Import Bank (GEXIM), which financed it, said on X on Friday. The plant itself is owned by Nadkansco Processing Limited, GEXIM said in September.
GEXIM gave only a daily figure. At 300 operating days a year, the assumption Ecofin Agency used on Friday, that would be a theoretical capacity of about 30,000 tonnes a year. That would add about 46%, by StatsGH's calculation, to the roughly 65,000 tonnes of installed processing capacity Ghana had in 2025, according to a study by the consultancy Nitidae, as reported by Ecofin.
The catch is that existing capacity is mostly idle. Ghana's processors handled about 15,000 tonnes of raw cashew in 2025, the same Nitidae study found, Citi Newsroom reported in August.
That is 23.1% of 65,000 tonnes, the 23% Ecofin reported. It is also about half of what the new plant alone could handle in a year.
What the numbers show
Nitidae estimated 2025 production at 262,000 tonnes, so about 5.7% of the crop was processed at home. The study was done with support from the Association of Cashew Processors of Ghana (ACPG), GIZ and the EU Delegation to Ghana.
The Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) gives a similar picture. In a presentation to the African Cashew Alliance's 2026 conference in Accra, chief executive Andy Osei Okrah said about 26 processing facilities were registered with the ACPG, with installed capacity "around 65,000 MT, yet less than 50% is being utilized".
He put 2024/25 production at 260,000 tonnes and said the 2025/26 crop was likely to be lower, around 230,000 tonnes.
Techiman at 300 operating days (theoretical); capacity approximate
Tonnes, 0–262,000. Sources: Nitidae via Citi Newsroom and Ecofin; TCDA; GEXIM; StatsGH calculation.
If national throughput stayed at 2025's level, adding Techiman would cut the share of capacity in use to about 15.8%. Filling all 95,000 tonnes would need 6.3 times last year's throughput, or about 36% of the 2025 crop.
Raw nuts still dominate. Cashew nuts in shell were Ghana's fifth-largest export in 2025, worth GHS 7.29 billion, or 1.8% of all exports, the Ghana Statistical Service's annual trade report shows.
Why plants stand idle
The Nitidae study, as reported by Citi, put the cost of a modern 20,000-tonne plant at about US$9.2 million in Ghana against US$5.3 million in Vietnam, with business borrowing at around 20% against about 9%. Processors also compete for nuts with traders buying for export to Asia, Ecofin reported.
The study identified only one major industrial processing facility operating, alongside a handful of smaller semi-automated and artisanal processors, Citi reported.
GEXIM said in September that the Techiman plant would employ about 450 people directly across three shifts, and about 1,500 including indirect jobs. The loan amount and the plant's cost have not been published, Ecofin and Chale News noted.
GEXIM's earlier backing of the Ekumfi fruit factory is covered in our story here: https://www.statsgh.com/agriculture-and-commodities/ekumfi-fruit-factory-gets-6m-exim-boost-mvqs9d69.
What people on X are saying
GEXIM's two posts announcing the commissioning drew few impressions (33 and 38 by Sunday morning). Ecofin's post headlined the low use of existing capacity. We found little wider reaction.
What it means
Ghana is adding capacity faster than it is using it. Whether Techiman changes that depends on whether it can buy nuts at a price that pays, which existing plants have struggled to do.
We did not ask GEXIM, Nadkansco, the TCDA or the Trade Ministry for comment for this story.
Limitations
The 30,000-tonne annual figure depends on the number of operating days; at 365 days it would be 36,500 tonnes. GEXIM gave only a daily capacity. We do not know whether the roughly 65,000-tonne figure already counts Techiman; it was given before the plant opened.
The 15,000-tonne, 65,000-tonne and 262,000-tonne figures are Nitidae estimates, reported by Citi and Ecofin; we have not seen the full report. The TCDA's 65,000 tonnes was described as current capacity in a 2026 presentation.
The TCDA's "less than 50%" is consistent with, but less precise than, Nitidae's figure. Customs tonnage from UN Comtrade was not used because its weight fields are inconsistent between years.
Sources: Ghana EXIM Bank, "GEXIM-backed cashew factory to begin operations by November", 9 Sep 2026. Ecofin Agency, "Ghana Adds Cashew Processing Projects Despite Low Use of Existing Factory Capacity", 13 Nov 2026. The Overseer, "Mahama to unveil GEXIM-funded cashew processing factory in Techiman", 13 Nov 2026. Citi Newsroom, "Ghana processes less than 6% of cashew output as farmers face price plunge", 6 Aug 2026. Chale News, "GEXIM cashew factory in Techiman targets 1,500 jobs", 9 Sep 2026. Tree Crops Development Authority (Andy Osei Okrah), "Ghana Cashew Policy Outlook", 2026 ACA Annual Cashew Conference, Accra. Ghana Statistical Service, 2025 Annual International Merchandise Trade Statistics report, Table 4.2.1 (via tralac). StatsGH, "Ghana's Ekumfi Fruit Factory Gets $6M EXIM Boost, Targets $53M Asset Value".
X posts: @geximgh; @geximgh; @ecofinagency.