Crops

Four crops, handled at origin.

Cocoa, cashew, soya beans and sesame. Rasad moves more than 5,000 metric tonnes a year and has supplied over 40,000 metric tonnes since 1997. Grades, seasonality and packaging are confirmed for buyers by Axias Global.

Cocoa

Theobroma cacao

Where it comes from

Linnaeus named the tree Theobroma — literally food of the gods. It was domesticated in the Amazon basin and used as drink and currency in Mesoamerica long before Europe tasted it. Cocoa reached West Africa in the nineteenth century and Nigerian farmers took it up quickly. Ayetoro sits inside that belt, and cocoa is the crop Rasad was founded on in 1997.

What it becomes

Beans are fermented and dried, then ground into liquor, butter, powder and cake. Chocolate is the visible end of the chain; the industrial end is confectionery fat, bakery and beverage powder.

What Rasad does with it

Rasad buys from farmers and licensed buying agents in Ogun and neighbouring states, checks moisture and bean count, and prepares lots for export.

Cashew

Anacardium occidentale

Where it comes from

The cashew tree is native to north east Brazil. Portuguese traders carried it to India and East Africa in the sixteenth century, first to hold soil against erosion, only later for the nut. West Africa now grows a large share of the world's raw crop, and Nigerian cashew is bought in volume by processors in Asia.

What it becomes

Raw cashew nuts in shell are steamed, shelled and peeled into kernels, graded by size and colour, for snacks, confectionery and nut butters. The apple is pressed locally for juice, and the shell liquid is used industrially.

What Rasad does with it

Rasad buys raw cashew nuts in shell during the season, checks nut count and outturn, and consolidates lots at Ayetoro.

Soya beans

Glycine max

Where it comes from

Soya was domesticated in northern China more than three thousand years ago and treated as one of the five sacred grains. It arrived in Nigeria early in the twentieth century and is now a staple of the middle belt, grown as much for animal feed as for food.

What it becomes

Crushing separates oil from meal. The oil goes to cooking and food manufacturing; the meal is the backbone of poultry and fish feed. Whole beans are also used for soya milk and local foods.

What Rasad does with it

Rasad aggregates beans through its buying network, checks moisture and foreign matter, and bags to the buyer's specification.

Sesame

Sesamum indicum

Where it comes from

Sesame is one of the oldest oilseeds under cultivation, recorded in Mesopotamia and the Indus valley. The phrase open sesame borrows the pod's habit of splitting when ripe. Nigeria is among the largest producers in Africa, and the crop travels well because the seed keeps.

What it becomes

Seed is hulled for bakery and confectionery, roasted for tahini, or pressed for oil. The cake left after pressing is used in feed.

What Rasad does with it

Rasad sources whitish and mixed seed, checks oil content, purity and free fatty acid, and prepares lots for onward sale.

Grades, seasonality, packaging, availability and buyer documentation are confirmed by Axias Global.

Ask Axias Global

Where the crop goes

Export destinations

Rasad buys and prepares the crop in Nigeria. Axias Global sells it into these markets.

Origin — Nigeria
Export destinations

Netherlands
Primary European trading hub for cocoa
Vietnam
Major processing market for cashew
Malaysia
Key South East Asian buyer
Singapore
Commodity trading centre
India
Growing consumer market for cashew

Supplying in Nigeria

Bring the crop to Rasad.

Farmers and licensed buying agents can speak directly with the origin team.

Supply Rasad

Buying internationally

Take it to market.

Buyers and processors should speak with Axias Global.

Contact Axias Global