The Cashew Debate in Mozambique: Are There Alternative Strategies?*

The bill entitled: Proposed Bill for the Cashew SubSector Re-Industrialization in Mozambique has been submitted to Parliament, and discussions will take place for its modification or approval during the current session. Approval of this bill into a law as it is currently designed will have major short, medium and long term impacts for all participants of the cashew sector in Mozambique. The bill proposes to ban the export of raw cashew nuts, that priority be given to first supplying the local processing industry, and that market prices be set at the producer level. This bill results from a long debate on economic measures adopted by the Government in 1995, namely the liberalization of raw cashew nut exports. With liberalization, a medium and long-term development strategy was established for the sub-sector aiming toward the re-establishment of the country as one of the world’s major cashew nut producers and exporters.