MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world's leading container shipping company, confirms its ongoing commitment to the sustainability of the cashew industry following its successful participation in the fifth edition of the National Cashew Exporters' Days of Côte d'Ivoire (JNEC-CI), which took place from 14 to 16 February 2023 in Abidjan.  

MSC Côte d'Ivoire's Export Sales Manager, Marie-Claude Tiecoura, took part in a panel discussion on 15 February 2024 on the theme of "Improving the quality of raw cashew nuts: what contribution can players in the value chain make". During the panel, Ms Tiecoura stressed the crucial importance of preserving cashew nut quality throughout the supply chain.

"The quality of cashew nuts is essential to the competitiveness of the industry, and we at MSC are committed to working closely with our customers to ensure integrated logistics solutions that meet the highest standards," said Ms Tiecoura.

MSC presented its experience as the transport partner of choice in the cashew sector and highlighted its comprehensive solutions, from transport to warehousing, to ensure the quality and integrity of cashew stocks. As a key player in global shipping, MSC reaffirms its commitment to the sustainable development of the cashew industry in Côte d'Ivoire and will continue to work with the industry to overcome the challenges and strengthen the competitiveness of the sector.

Côte d'Ivoire is the world's leading cashew nut producer with over 1.2 million tonnes, the world's leading cashew nut exporter and the world's 3rd largest cashew nut processor. The cashew nut industry contributes 9% to the gross domestic product (GDP) and creates at least 5,000 jobs.

The other speakers on the panel stressed the need for producers to make a deliberate effort to improve the quality of the nuts they produce, as well as the quality of packaging, collaboration between stakeholders and advocacy to ensure that public policies are geared towards improving nut quality. They also reaffirmed the need for local processing to improve the added value created locally.

A number of other topics were addressed over the course of the 3 days: The competitiveness of Côte d'Ivoire's exporting companies on the international market; development policies between players in the sector and African public authorities to achieve greater sub-regional synergy; the processing industry faced with the challenges of sustainability; the performance of the cashew nut sector through an appropriate financing system.

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