First Guinean Cashew Processor Signs Up for ACA Seal Program after Initiating Guinean Cashew Exports to US

"The work that still needs to be done is less than what we have accomplished already, I am certain we will reach the next level," said El Hadji Mamadou Bary of SOPELGUI, after he signed up his company for the ACA Quality and Sustainability Seal Program.

SOPELGUI is Guinea’s first cashew processor. The Indian-Guinean joint venture began operating in 2012 and has since exported the first cashew kernels from Guinea, most of which to an ACA founding member based in the US.

After discussions with ACA Quality and Food Safety Expert Jim Giles and a visit by MD Christian Dahm and William Larbi in February 2013, SOPELGUI decided to implement the ACA Seal program. The facility is the most recent to commit to the ACA Seal, enrolling in a program that now includes two approved and seven implementing companies in East and West Africa.

SOPELGUI was also featured on the evening national news program in Guinea, in a segment highlighting the facility and the potential of cashew processing for the Guinean economy. A team of journalists interviewed Guinean Cashew Alliance Executive Secretary Keita Sidibe and Dahm for the piece.