Raw cashew nut drying systems in Senegal
What the crop demands, what the country imposes, and what that means for capacity.
Senegalese cashew is concentrated in Casamance, a region whose agricultural potential has long outrun its infrastructure. Volumes are modest by Ivorian standards but the crop matters locally, and almost all of it leaves as raw nut through Ziguinchor and Banjul with the conditioning done badly or not at all.
The situation in Senegal
The closest West African coast to Europe, with Dakar four days’ sailing from Algeciras and a direct air-freight route that other producers in the region do not have. Its agricultural calendar is also the odd one out: the rains arrive late and the mango season runs through the northern summer, when Sahelian supply has finished. That timing is worth more than any processing efficiency.
Growing regions. the Niayes coastal strip, Casamance in the south, Saint-Louis and the river valley
What raw cashew nut drying demands
Raw cashew nut is bought on outturn — the kernel yield a buyer can expect from a tonne of nut — and outturn is destroyed by moisture. Above 10 % the nut moulds in the bag on a six-week sea voyage; too dry and the kernel becomes brittle and breaks at shelling, which costs grade. The 8–10 % window is narrow and is worth several hundred dollars a tonne.
Harvest calendar
April to June, a short and late season relative to the rest of the region — Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are largely finished by the time Casamance starts.
The working campaign window as the trade runs it. It shifts a fortnight either way with the rains.
Process parameters
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Drying temperature | 45–55 °C |
| Final moisture | 8–10 % |
| Yield (fresh : dried) | 1.15 : 1 |
| Cycle time | 8–14 h |
Sizing starting points from ordinary processing practice, not a validated recipe for your product. Confirm against your own intake and your buyer’s specification.
Worked sizing example
For a unit taking 6 tonnes of fresh product a day, at a yield of 1.15 : 1:
Illustrative figures calculated from the yield and campaign window above. They size a conversation; they do not describe any existing installation.
Fuel available in Senegal
The groundnut basin supplies a large volume of very light groundnut shell: briquetting is not optional but a precondition. Rice husk in the river valley.
- Base load. Groundnut shell · Rice husk · Cashew shell
- Supplement. Cotton stalk · Corn cob · Sawdust
See all 27 fuels and their properties
Market and buyer requirements
Raw nut export to Asian shellers, with a small and growing domestic shelling sector. Buyers pay on outturn, and outturn is set by moisture at the point of shipment.
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The systems that hold this profile
Other crops in Senegal
Fish · Groundnut · Mango · Onion · Hibiscus
Raw cashew nut drying elsewhere
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso · 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire · 🇬🇭 Ghana · 🇧🇯 Benin · 🇹🇬 Togo
Frequently asked questions
Why does Casamance cashew need conditioning?
Because it is bought on outturn and shipped a long way. Nut above 10 % moisture moulds over a six-week voyage; below 8 % the kernel breaks at shelling. Holding 8–10 % on an 8 to 14 hour cycle is what protects the price.
Is the late season an advantage?
Commercially, yes. April to June puts Casamance nut into the market after Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana have largely finished, when buyers are competing for remaining volume rather than the other way round — provided it arrives inside the 8–10 % moisture window that sets outturn.
What can a Casamance operation run the burner on?
Its own shell, at 4,800 kcal/kg with ash under 3 %. Groundnut shell is also abundant from the wider basin at around 4,500 kcal/kg, though at 150–200 kg/m³ it must be briquetted before a hopper will hold a shift of it.
Size a unit in Senegal
Tell us your daily fresh volume and target output, and we will size the chambers, the burner and the fuel available around your site.
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