The 2026 campaign opened on 26 February in Lomé. The floor price fell, the region followed, and the reason lies outside West Africa.
What was decided
Togo opened its 2026 cashew marketing season on 26 February. The Interprofessional Council of the Cashew Sector (CIFAT) set the farm-gate floor price at 350 CFA francs per kilogram, against 425 the season before — a fall of 75 francs. Industry stakeholders expect around 45,000 tonnes of raw nuts to reach the market.
The neighbours sit close. Côte d'Ivoire opened at 400 CFA francs per kilogram, Benin and Burkina Faso at 385. Across the region the same decision was taken in the same weeks, which tells you the pressure was not local.
Why the price came down
The cause is on the demand side, not in the orchards. International prices weakened through 2025, and United States tariff measures unsettled a market that absorbs a large share of processed kernels. Côte d'Ivoire cut its own farm-gate price by 6% for the same reasons.
A floor price is a floor, not a market. It protects the grower from being bought below cost — CIFAT was explicit that it was set against production costs per hectare. It does not say what a container is worth on arrival, and it never has.
What it means when you buy
A lower farm-gate price does not translate mechanically into a cheaper FOB. Between the field and the quay sit collection, drying, bagging, fumigation, inspection and freight — and none of those fell by 75 francs this year.
What moves the landed cost of a lot far more than the opening price is its outturn. At 47 lbs against 49, the same tonne of raw nuts yields less kernel, and the discount follows all the way to the buyer. Ask for the nut count and the outturn before you ask for the price: they decide what you are actually paying for.
On timing
The official campaign runs from mid-March to June, after the opening weeks. Booking early secures volume in a season expected at 45,000 tonnes for Togo alone; waiting widens the choice of lots but exposes you to a price that has usually moved by then.
Neither is right in the abstract. It depends on whether your constraint is the tonnage or the specification — and that is a conversation to have before the campaign, not during it.