Top Agricultural Exporters in Mozambique — Cashew, Sesame, Macadamia & Prawns

Export Trading Group (ETG) is one of the world's leading cashew nut traders and one of Mozambique's most significant agricultural commodity exporters. ETG sources cashew nuts, sesame seeds, soyabeans, and pigeon peas from smallholder farmers across Northern Mozambique for export to India, Vietnam, and international markets. The company is an AATIF (Africa Agriculture Trade Investment Fund) investee, working on climate-smart cashew production including biochar research.

ETG's operations span the Nampula, Cabo Delgado, and Zambezia provinces — Mozambique's cashew heartland. The company's investment in traceability systems and sustainable sourcing practices aligns with the premium market requirements of European and North American buyers who increasingly demand traceable, sustainably sourced Mozambican cashew. For large-volume buyers seeking Mozambican cashew or sesame with robust supply chain documentation, ETG is the country's most commercially capable trading partner.

Mozambique Cashew Company is one of the country's prominent cashew processors and exporters, holding approximately 20% of the total cashew export volume from Mozambique. MCC operates with a commitment to quality and sustainability, exporting processed cashew kernels to international buyers across Europe, North America, and Asia. The company's investment in processing capacity reflects the Mozambican government's priority of retaining cashew value-addition domestically rather than exporting raw nuts.

For buyers seeking processed Mozambican cashew kernels rather than raw nuts in shell, MCC represents one of the most established domestic processing operations, with quality management systems and INAC compliance that meet premium market requirements in the USA and EU.

Agroindustrial de Nacala is a cashew processing and export company based in Nacala, Mozambique — strategically located near the Port of Nacala, one of East Africa's deepest natural harbours and the primary export gateway for Northern Mozambique's cashew and sesame production. AIN specialises in producing premium cashew nuts adhering to strict quality standards and sustainable practices, with modern processing facilities that have driven consistent revenue growth.

Nacala's port infrastructure advantage — shorter transit times and lower logistics costs than routing through Maputo for Northern Mozambique origins — makes AIN particularly competitive for buyers in Asia and the Middle East. For buyers seeking Northern Mozambique cashew kernels with modern processing certification and Nacala port logistics, AIN is a commercially relevant direct processing partner.

Tongaat Hulett (now transitioning under RCL Foods management) operates Mozambique's largest sugar plantations and mills in Sofala province, producing raw and refined sugar for export to the EU under the EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and to the USA under AGOA. These trade agreements provide duty-free and preferential market access that makes Mozambican sugar commercially competitive in premium markets.

For food manufacturers and sugar traders seeking Southern African origin cane sugar with EU EPA and AGOA access credentials, Mozambican sugar operations represent commercially significant supply with reliable compliance infrastructure — the EU EPA requires specific rules of origin compliance that established Mozambican mills have built into their operations.

Alliance One International operates tobacco leaf processing in Mozambique as part of its global leaf tobacco supply chain. Tete province is the heart of Mozambican tobacco production, and Alliance One's integrated processing operations ensure consistent quality specifications for international cigarette manufacturers in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Mozambican tobacco — primarily burley and flue-cured types — is processed for export to Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Asian markets.

For tobacco buyers seeking Mozambican leaf supply, Alliance One's established operations and international quality management systems provide the compliance infrastructure required for entry into regulated tobacco markets globally.

TechnoServe, with support from the Mozambican government and donors, has established a network of semi-mechanised cashew processing cooperatives in Northern Mozambique — particularly in Nampula province — that have revitalised the country's domestic cashew processing sector. These small- and medium-scale cooperative processing units employ local women and men in rural communities, processing cashew nuts from surrounding smallholder farmer networks into kernels for export.

For premium buyers, specialty food companies, and impact-aligned importers seeking certified, traceable, sustainably processed Mozambican cashew with documented smallholder supply chains and social impact credentials, TechnoServe-affiliated cooperative units represent the country's most commercially compelling alternative to large industrial processors.

CFAM (Cashew Farmers Association of Mozambique) represents the over 1 million smallholder cashew farming households that collectively produce the vast majority of Mozambique's raw cashew output. CFAM advocates for fair prices, sustainable practices, and farmer income improvement across the cashew value chain. The association's collective export contribution is the backbone of Mozambique's cashew sector.

For buyers committed to smallholder-sourced Mozambican cashew with fair trade and sustainability credentials, CFAM provides the most direct connection to the smallholder networks that ultimately produce the country's cashew supply.

Mozambique's 2,700km Indian Ocean coastline produces world-class prawns, lobster, crab, and fish for export to European and Asian markets. The seafood sector earns approximately $50 million annually, with Sofala (Beira) and Nampula as the primary processing hubs. Spanish and Portuguese buyers are the dominant EU importers of Mozambican prawns, while China is a growing market for crab and sea cucumber.

For seafood buyers seeking Southern African origin prawns with EU food safety compliance (HACCP), Mozambican operations represent one of Africa's most commercially established marine product export sectors. Buyers should verify EU approved establishment status before importing — compliance with EU food safety regulation 178/2002 and Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 is essential for EU market entry.

Mocaju represents the collective interests of Mozambique's domestic cashew processing sector — a sector the government is actively developing to increase value retained in-country from the cashew commodity chain. Member processing facilities across Northern Mozambique produce cashew kernels at various grades for export to premium markets. The alliance supports adoption of international quality standards and INAC compliance across member facilities.

For buyers seeking to source processed Mozambican cashew directly from the country's growing processing sector, Mocaju member facilities provide access to domestically produced kernels that support Mozambique's economic development goals — an increasingly important procurement consideration for EU buyers with supplier sustainability reporting obligations.

Olam operates in Mozambique through the AATIF-supported agricultural commodity value chains covering sesame seeds, pigeon peas, and soyabeans — sourcing from smallholder farmers in Nampula and Zambezia provinces for export to Asian markets. Olam's farmer engagement model, which provides agricultural inputs and training alongside market access, mirrors its approach in other African markets and builds the supply chain traceability increasingly required by international buyers.

For buyers seeking Mozambican sesame or pigeon peas with documented smallholder supply chains and Olam's global logistics capabilities, the company's Mozambique operations provide commercially reliable supply with sustainability documentation.

Mozambique's macadamia sector, concentrated in Manica province in the country's west, is a growing contributor to Southern Africa's macadamia supply chain. Mozambican macadamia nuts are exported to South African processing facilities (where they are cracked and processed into kernels for global markets) and increasingly directly to European and Asian buyers. Harmonie Macadamia in South Africa specifically identifies Mozambique as a macadamia import source alongside Kenya and Zambia.

For buyers building supply diversification across the Southern African macadamia belt, Mozambique represents an emerging origin with cost-competitive production and growing volume as orchards mature.