Tanzania: Don't Discourage Buyers, Says Cashew Board

The Cashewnut Board of Tanzania (CBT) wants the government to eliminate challenges facing cashew nut buyers, warning that ongoing wrangles between farmers and crop buyers on the one hand and Mtwara regional authorities on the other, was unhealthy for business prosperity in the country and could lead to a fall in prices. The CBT concern is being aired in the wake of a plea by the Vietnamese embassy seeking permission for Vietnam cashew nuts traders to transport by road their merchandise from Mtwara to the Dar es Salaam Port.

A Vietnamese company, Starnuts, has failed to transport 3,700 tonnes of cashew nuts because the sea vessels that would ferry the commodity to Dar es Salaam were reportedly booked until January. The government recently directed crop buyers to export their consignments using Mtwara Port so that facility other agencies operating there can collect taxes and fees. But the shortage of marine vessels at the port means cargo would have to wait for long in the godowns, a situation that affects crop buyers' obligations to their customers and financiers. CBT Director General Hassan Jarufu told The Citizen over the weekend that transporting the commodity to the Dar es Salaam Port by road would make cashew nuts business more sustainable. This would expedite the trade cycle as exporters would sell their merchandise overseas faster and repay their loans and come back to buy more crops.

"Under the current situation where thousands of tonnes are still in the warehouses buyers, cannot have the money to purchase cashew nuts in the ongoing auctions," he warned. He said until mid-last week, 107 listed buyers were reported to have bought 141,000 tonnes, but only between 54,000 and 57,000 tonnes have been issued with export permits, meaning that over 90,000 tonnes were yet to be shipped out of Mtwara. According to him, lack of money has left only a few local buyers in the auction centres, accounting for the gradual decrease in prices. This, he adds, is an indicator that prices will be low as the festive season approaches since most foreign buyers would travel home for Christmas and New Year holidays.

"We shouldn't discourage these people; they have brought competition that has enabled the country to register unprecedentedly high prices," he said. Mr Jarufu said the Mtwara Port was incapable of handling this year's big harvests due to its poor infrastructure, what with its inability to dock large ships and having only one weighbridge, among other challenges. "Procedures require that each container is weighed before it is loaded and under the present situation in the Mtwara Port, ships spend many days loading. Also, the port's water levels don't allow large vessels to dock and load cargo at full capacity," he said.

He suggested that the region should tighten security after opening roads for cashew nut transportation by introducing many checkpoints as neighbours in Lindi region have done. Lindi has introduced checkpoints in Mnazi Mmoja, Nangurukuru and Malendego to curb illegal transportation of the highly valued product.

Source:http://allafrica.com