Cashew

The tropical evergreen tree Anacardium occidentale, which belongs to the Anacardiaceae family, is commonly referred to as cashew. It is indigenous to South America and is the source of the cashew apple, an accessory fruit, and the cashew nut. Although the tree can reach a height of 14 meters (46 feet), dwarf cultivars that reach a maximum height of 6 meters (20 feet) are more profitable due to their earlier maturity and higher yields. The cashew nut can be processed to make cashew cheese or cashew butter, or it can be consumed as a snack on its own or added to dishes.

A ‘cashew’ is a common name for the nut. Four million tonnes of its nut were produced worldwide in 2019, with India and Ivory Coast producing the most. In addition to the fruit and nut, the plant serves a number of other purposes. The caju seed’s shell produces derivatives that have a wide range of uses, including as paints, lubricants, waterproofing, and, beginning during World War II, the manufacture of weapons. The pulp and juice of the light reddish to yellow cashew apple can be fermented and distilled into liquor or processed into a sweet, astringent fruit drink.

An explanation Its huge, evergreen tree can reach a height of 14 meters (46 feet) and has a short, frequently asymmetrical trunk. The leaves have a smooth edge, are elliptic to obovate, spirally organized, leathery textured, and measure 4–22 centimeters (1+1⁄2–8+3⁄4 inches) in length and 2–15 cm (3⁄4–6 inches) in width. Up to 26 cm (10 in) of blooms are produced in a panicle or corymb; each flower is small, initially pale green before turning reddish, and has five slender, sharp petals that are 7–15 millimeters (1⁄4–5⁄8 in) long. Located in Natal, Brazil, the largest cashew tree in the world occupies an area of about 7,500 m2 (81,000 sq ft).

The cashew tree produces accessory fruit, often known as a fake fruit or pseudocarp. The hypocarpium, an oval or pear-shaped structure that emerges from the flower’s pedicel and receptacle, is what looks to be the fruit. The kidney-shaped or boxing glove-shaped drupe that develops at the end of the cashew apple is the tree’s actual fruit.

The pedicel grows into the cashew apple after the drupe initially forms on the tree. The drupe turns into the actual fruit, a single seed with a shell that is frequently referred to as a nut in culinary contexts. Anacardic acid, an allergic phenolic resin found in the double shell that envelops the seed, is a strong skin irritant that is chemically similar to the more well-known and dangerous allergenic oil urushiol, which is present in the related poison ivy and lacquer tree.

• Botanical illustration • Tree in Mozambique, south eastern Africa • Trunk in Bangladesh • Flowers • Pollen grains of Cashew tree • Young fruits Etymology The English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree: caju (Portuguese pronunciation: [kaˈʒu]), also known as acaju, which itself is from the Tupi word acajú, literally meaning “nut that produces itself”. The generic name Anacardium is composed of the Greek prefix ana- (ἀνά-, aná, ‘up, upward’), the Greek cardia (καρδία, kardía, ‘heart’), and the Neo-Latin suffix -ium. It possibly refers to the heart shape of the fruit, to “the top of the fruit stem” or to the seed.

The word anacardium was earlier used to refer to Semecarpus anacardium (the marking nut tree) before Carl Linnaeus transferred it to the cashew; both plants are in the same family. The epithet occidentale derives from the Western (or Occidental) world.

The plant has many common names in many languages throughout its wide range of distribution, such as anacardier (French), caju (pronounced [kaˈʒu] in Portuguese), or acaju (Portuguese), with the fruit being called pomme de cajou. Habitat and distribution Originally from tropical South America, Portuguese travelers spread the species throughout the world in the 1500s. As early as the 1550s, Portuguese colonists in Brazil started exporting cashew nuts. Between 1560 and 1565, the Portuguese brought it to Goa, which was then known as Estado da India Portuguesa in India. It then proceeded to spread throughout Africa and Southeast Asia.

Cultivation Cashew production (with shell) 2021 Country Production (tonnes) Côte d’Ivoire 837,850 India 738,000 Vietnam 348,504 Philippines 255,931 Tanzania 210,786 World 3,708,153 Cultivated in the tropics between 25°N and 25°S, cashew trees grow in hot, lowland regions with a distinct dry season, which is also where tamarind and mango trees do well. Tall (up to 14 m (46 ft.)), the typical cashew tree takes three years to begin producing and eight years before it can start yielding profitable harvests. Modern varieties, like dwarf cashew trees, can grow up to 6 meters (20 feet) in height.

They begin to bear fruit after the first year and reach profitable yields after three years. The dwarf species generates more than a ton of cashew nuts per hectare, while the typical tree yields roughly 0.25 t/ha (0.100 long ton/acre; 0.11 short ton/acre). In commercial orchards, cashew nut yields are further enhanced and maintained by the use of grafting and other contemporary tree management techniques. Manufacturing Ivory Coast and India accounted for 43% of the world’s total cashew nut production in 2021, with 3.7 million tons produced worldwide (table).

Cashew production

Exchange In terms of value (USD), Ghana, Tanzania, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were the top 10 exporters of cashew nuts (in-shell; HS Code 080131) in 2021.

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 World 2.8B 2.8B 1.9B 2.0B 1.3B 253.2M 455.7M 222.6M 340.7M 172.7M Tanzania 530.0M 426.8M 221.4M 362.0M 159.0M Guinea-Bissau 318.0M 129.0M 122.8M 128.5M 143.6M Nigeria 69.3M 191.1M 74.5M 94.4M 138.8M Ivory Coast 1.0B 1.1B 730.8M 612.0M 129.7M Burkina Faso 144.8M 198.9M 81.0M 53.3M 96.0M Senegal 3.4M 33.2M 60.5M 38.6M 92.3M Indonesia 112.7M 84.4M 121.0M 102.4M 70.7M UAE 103.1K 74.5M 586.3K 3.4M 55.2M Guinea 161.6M 41.2M 45.2M 35.7M 53.1M

Between 2017 and 2021, the United States, Vietnam, India, the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Indonesia, and Burkina Faso were the top 10 exporters of shelled cashew nuts (HS Code 080132). Ivory Coast became the top exporter in Africa in 2014 due to the country’s cashew cultivation’s explosive rise. Dissatisfaction in the cashew nut sector has been brought about by changes in global market pricing, unfavorable labor conditions, and low compensation for local harvesting. Between 2000 and 2019, nearly all cashews grown in Africa were shipped as raw nuts, which are far less lucrative than shelled nuts.

Promoting Africa’s cashew processing capabilities is one of the African Cashew Alliance’s objectives in order to increase the cashew industry’s profitability. Human Rights Watch revealed in 2011 that Vietnam’s cashew processing industry employed forced labor. At more than 100 rehabilitation facilities, almost 40,000 present or former drug users were frequently assaulted while being made to remove shells from “blood cashews” or perform other tasks.

Toxicity

Tree nut proteins cause these sensitivities, and cooking frequently does not alter or eliminate these proteins. Cashew and tree nut reactions can also result by unintentionally introducing traces of nuts or concealed nut ingredients during food handling, processing, or manufacture.
Oil components found in cashew nut shells, mainly from phenolic lipids, anacardic acid, and cardanol, can result in contact dermatitis that resembles poison ivy. Cashews in their shell are usually not sold to customers since they can cause dermatitis. Cardanol is being studied for its uses in biology and nanomaterials since it can be easily and affordably recovered from discarded shells.

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