Can Africa Industrialize by Processing Primary Commodities? The Case of Mozambican Cashew Nuts

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Periodical article

Title:	Can Africa Industrialize by Processing Primary Commodities? The Case of Mozambican Cashew Nuts
Author:	Cramer, Christopher
Year:	1999
Periodical:	World Development
Volume:	27
Issue:	7
Period:	July
Pages:	1247-1266
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Mozambique
Subjects:	industrial development cashew nuts Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment Development and Technology Economics and Trade
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(99)00053-4
Abstract:	Industrialization strategies based on vertical diversification into processing of primary commodities have long been appealing to low-income countries. The performance of such strategies is mixed. An aggregate-level literature is divided on the advisability of low-income countries processing commodities for export, especially for countries relatively poor in human capital. This paper considers a particular example, that of cashew nut processing in Mozambique, against the background of the major lines of argument at the general level. The paper argues that there are significant constraints on the development of a successful cashew processing industry in Mozambique, but that this does not mean that the industry should be abandoned. To capture the real potential benefits of a processing industry, which are within the reach of the Mozambican economy, there must be decisive policy interventions. However, the most pressing constraints may be political rather than purely technical or economic. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum.