Brazil is predicting a large cashew harvest this season with production estimated at a whopping 160,000 metric tons (MT), website Globorural.globo.com reported.

The Ceará Cashew Producers' Union, which represents 45 nut-growing municipalities in the north east of the country,  expects it will be the second biggest harvest in 20 years and three times higher than last year's, the story reported

The prolific harvest that started last month is due to a better winter and ideal rainfall of 800mm, which favored plantation growth in Ceará. The state is the country's biggest producing area with 400,000 hectares of cashew trees.

However, in the long-term producers are worried about the fact their orchards are more than 30-years-old with a lot of waste from the stalks affecting productivity and profitability.

Photo: Alibaba

www.freshfruitportal.com