Tanzania: Study on processing cashew nuts to be out soon

A PILOT study on processing cashew nuts in the country will be complete next month, the Vice Chairman of Tanzania Cashewnut Board Mr Mudhihiri Mudhihiri has said.

Addressing a news conference in Dar es Salaam , Mr Mudhihiri said the study, initiated in August this year aims at enabling the board set long term plans for processing cashew nuts before export.“The study is being conducted in various areas...collecting views from cashewnut stakeholders to enable us (TCB) set long term strategies to start processing the crop before export,” he noted.

Mr Mudhihiri said processing of cashew nuts in the country would increase income for farmers and the government. He said export of the raw cashews denies the government extra foreign exchange.Meanwhile, Mr Mudhihiri has said that the buying of cashew nuts in the 2012/13 season will kick off soon calling on the cashew nut cooperative societies to organise themselves with the Regional Task Force to sell their produce.

He said that farmers will sell the cashew nuts for 1200/- per kilogramme for the first grade and the second grade cashew nuts will be sold at 960 per kilogramme.“The prices were decided during a meeting conducted early this month with various stakeholders including banks, the Ministry of Industry and Trade,” he said adding that the meeting was led by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Cooperatives.

He noted that CRDB, NMB and TIB banks agreed to extend loans to cooperative societies to enable them sell the cashew nuts.