East African Business Week

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA - Cashew nuts stakeholders are urging the Tanzania government to revive the 12 defunct cashew nuts processing plants to enable them to add value to their crops and thereby attract higher prices of the farmers.
  All the 12 plants which were built with assistance from the Bretton Woods financiers in the 1970s, were abandoned because of the Government's privatization polity which has proved to be a failure in many sectors.
  Speaking to the East African Business Week in Dar es Salaam last week, the Acting Chairman of the Board of Director of Cashewnuts Board of Tanzania (CBT), Mr Hemed Mkali said, the Government should overhaul  the factories because that was the best solution to assure increased farm incomes.
  "There is a need to revamp defunct cashew nuts processing factories soon," Mr Mkali emphasized. If the plants are revived they will increase direct employment of 30,000 and help hold back the rural-urban migration of unemployed youths.
 According to Ministry for Industry, Trade and Marketing, at present, about 80 per cent of Tanzania's raw cashew nuts grown mostly along the Indian Coast regions, are exported raw to India.
  "Most of the former state-owned factories that have been privatized are not functioning any more," he said adding that due to this situation farmers fail to export finished products which forces them to sale in low prices.   However, Mr Mkali urged farmers and other stakeholders to set up mini-processing plants for co-operatives societies and unions.
  In another development, the CBT said reported cashew nuts production has increased from 75,000 tonnes  in 2009/10 season to 120,000 metric tons during 2010/2011 season. The country's target was to produce 121,800 tonnes.
  CBT's Director General Mr Beno Mhagama attributed the success to good weather and sufficient rain during last year's season.    Mr Mhagama said as a result Tanzania has earned Tsh22 billion (US$14.67 million) in revenues compared to Tsh5 billion ($3.33 million) in the previous season.
  "The farmers have benefited greatly as sale of the crop increased to between Tsh1,000 (about $0.67) and Tsh1,500 ($1.0) from Tsh800 ($0.53) during the last season," said Mr Mhagama
  Mr Mhagama said that as many as 500,000 smaller-holder farmers grow cashew nuts in Tanzania's Mtwara, Lindi, Coast, Ruvuma and Tanga regions.
  According to the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization, Tanzania is Africa's largest cashew nut grower after Nigeria and the Ivory Coast, and the world's eighth biggest producer.
  Tandahimba District in Mtwara region was the leading producer during the season, but could reveal the sales.
    Tanzania's cashew industry generates 5 per cent of the country's export earnings - approximately $70m annually - from raw cashew nuts exports.   
 Raw cashew nuts production in Tanzania fallen from 128,000 tons in 2001 to 84,000 tons currently. Analysts say a viable processing industry in the country could create 30,000 direct jobs and generate $40 million in incremental processing revenues annually.