This archive report was first published on 24 September 2019.
Published on September 24, 2019, Tanzania's agriculture minister, Japhet Hasunga, announced that the country expects to raise cashew nuts production by 33.5% in the year to September 2020.
The increase is attributed to good weather, widespread availability of farming inputs, and increased plantings, which are expected to reach 300,000 tonnes in the 2019/2020 season, up from 225,000 tonnes produced in the 2018/2019 season.
According to the minister, the government had previously blocked traders from buying the crop from farmers after they could not meet the minimum indicative prices set by President John Magufuli. The president had ordered a 94% hike in prices, arguing that farmers were receiving too little for the most valuable of Tanzania's crop exports.
However, the government eventually sold the 2018/2019 crop to a Vietnamese firm and will allow private traders to resume buying in 2019/2020.
President Magufuli had deployed the army to collect the entire crop of over 200,000 tonnes of cashew nuts from farmers, but later sacked two ministers, saying they had failed to secure buyers.
