BENIN-ECONOMY-FOOD-INDUSTRY-CASHEW

Workers wait to unload bags of cashew nuts from a truck for the drying process at the Fludor plant in Zogbodomey, some 110km north of Cotonou, on March 29, 2019. - A competitive global cashew market is dominated by India (25 percent of 2,2 million tons of world production), yet the tiny West African country of Benin is one of the main producers on the continent with 100,000 tonnes harvested over the last two seasons. The edible almond represents only 22 percent of the nut, with the rest typically thrown away. But things are now starting to change. A dozen local companies in northern and central Benin already use cashew apples, turning them into fruit juices. The Fludor factory, a subsidiary of the Nigerian food giant TGI (Tropical General Investments Group), wants to go even further by manufacturing Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) made from a by-product of the hard outer layer. (Photo by Mohamed Bio / AFP) (Photo credit should read MOHAMED BIO/AFP via Getty Images)