Nigerian cashew farmers may soon be smiling to the bank as Walmart, a major American retailer had made a $7 billion order for cashew nuts from Nigerian farmers. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh disclosed this at an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) . Ogbeh, had earlier in the year announced that Nigeria had begun exporting yams to the United Kingdom.
Implications of the order
The move by Walmart could lead to a rise in cashew prices in the country, as well as the prices of other commodities as farmers focus attention on cashew. Even though the order is a major one, farmers and the country as a whole would make more money if the cashew nuts were processed before being exported. The order could thus lead to an increase in investments in processing of cashew nuts in the country.
Government however benefits from enhanced revenue. Farmers and bulk buyers of the product will pay more taxes. A drop in crude oil prices, led to a fall in government revenue and pushed the economy into recession. Government at the federal level, was forced to ramp up borrowing and had to bail out state and local governments. The farmers will benefit from enhanced revenue and could decide to expand their farms, thus creating more jobs.
Walmart Stores Inc (also known as Walmart) an American retailing giant was founded by Sam Walton in 1969, and is one of the biggest companies in the world by market value. Walmart is also the world’s largest private employer as it has over 2.3 million employees. The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. Walmart had revenues of $475 billion for the period ended 2016.
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