Usibras Ghana Limited, the largest cashew processing company in Ghana, is considering moving its investment and operations from Ghana to Ivory Coast, where raw materials are more readily available to sustain year-round processing.
The company, which has been operating a 24-hour production cycle for the past ten years, cites the following key challenges as the reasons behind this potential relocation:
Lack of raw materials
Ghana’s cashew supply cannot sustain industrial-scale processing.
With a plant capacity of 35,000 MT per annum, Usibras Ghana Limited was only able to secure 7,000 MT of raw cashew nuts this year.
High cost of utilities
Electricity and other operational inputs have become increasingly expensive, impacting competitiveness.
Unfavorable export tariffs
The company’s major market is largely in the USA, and with the 15% tariff imposed on products from Ghana, Usibras is struggling.
Not having raw materials to process, combined with the heavy tariff burden, makes the market unsuitable to explore competitively.
Difficulty in sustaining continuous operations
Economic and Social Implications
The relocation of Usibras Ghana Limited will have significant ripple effects across Ghana’s economy and social structure:
Job losses
Out of its current workforce of 700 employees, the company has already begun gradually reducing staff strength after processing the limited volumes of raw cashew nuts available.
A complete shutdown would displace all employees, creating severe social and economic distress for hundreds of households.
Impact on farmers
Farmer associations that supply cashew to the company will lose a key market for their produce, disrupting livelihoods and discouraging production.
Effect on exports
Usibras is one of the few companies generating substantial foreign exchange inflows into Ghana through its banking operations with Standard Chartered Bank.
The move will further reduce Ghana’s export earnings.
Collapse of industry Association
As a major player in the Association of Cashew Processors Ghana, the relocation is expected to weaken the association and reduce its ability to advocate for the industry.
Impact on service providers
Numerous businesses and service providers that support Usibras will be negatively affected, forcing them to seek alternative opportunities or close down.
Social security and tax implications
As a company that contributes significantly to SSNIT (Tema East District) and PAYE taxes, the relocation will reduce government revenue streams in the long term.
A looming disaster
The potential relocation of Usibras Ghana Limited poses a major threat to Ghana’s cashew processing sector and industrialization agenda.
The move represents not just the loss of an employer but also a weakening of the entire cashew value chain from farmers to exporters to service providers.
Unless urgent interventions are made to address the critical issues of raw material availability and utility costs, Ghana risks losing one of its most consistent and reliable cashew processing firms.
The inability of a factory with a capacity to process 35,000 MT to secure more than 7,000 MT this year is a clear signal of systemic challenges in the sector.
If left unresolved, this crisis will cost Ghana hundreds of jobs, millions in foreign exchange, and a setback in the country’s agribusiness development efforts.
Government’s role in safeguarding the sector
The government needs to urgently safeguard the future of Usibras and other processors and future investors by:
Ensuring that all rules and regulations in the cashew sector are properly applied to protect local processors.
Introducing tax policies similar to those in Ivory Coast to protect processors and make the sector competitive.
Establishing a task force to control and regularize the system, ensuring both processors and farmers are protected.
Without swift intervention, Ghana risks losing not only Usibras but also investor confidence in the cashew sector and beyond.
