Cashew, Palawan’s golden fruit, is second only to almond as the world’s most important nut. Unlike Davao and durian, Guimaras and mango, Camiguin and lanzones, Palawan is not quickly known for cashew, with many Filipinos associating the nut with Antipolo. Cashew nuts, roasted and salted, make for premium snacks, nutritious fats and oils.

Brought into the Philippines from northeast Brazil in the 17th Century, the cashew tree grows up to 12 meters, bearing a a kidney-shaped nut attached to a pear-shaped fruit. A cashew tree produces between 200 and 300 nuts a year, 60 percent of which is consumed as snacks. Average yield is 5 metric tons (MT) of nuts and 821,000 of fruits per hectare.

According to the Western Philippines University, the country’s number one producer of cashew is Palawan where some 24,345 hectares are devoted to cashew plantations. They yield 106,256 MT of fruits a year.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is keen on developing cashew into full fruition knowing that there is a steadily growing demand for processed and industrially manufactured cashew-based products. Cashew is a banner commodity for Palawan.

The worldwide demand for cashew kernel is 200,000 MT a year. Raw nuts come mostly from Vietnam, India and Brazil while processed products are from the United States, Vietnam and Australia – as well as Mozambique and Tanzania. However, quality planting materials are lacking; there are no reliable production data; production is seasonal with a long payback period; pests and diseases persist; many processed products and packaging materials are of low quality; and marketing systems are inefficient.

Original Article: Cashing in on Palawan’s Golden Fruit by Paul Icamina in Malaya Business Insight on November 05, 2010

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