Tanzania’s Cashewnut Board (CBT) has said over 149,742 tons of raw cashew nuts worth $225. 59 million have been exported for the 2014/15 agricultural season. CBT’s Director General, Mfaume Juma told East African Business Week in Dar es Salaam last week, this is part of 195,000 tons collected by farmers in their primary associations through the warehouse receipt system. Juma said the 28% increase that have been exported this year compared to 117,012.7 tons that was transported last season was due to the success that has come as a result of good cooperation among the partners. He said despite having the port of Mtwara, but we are being forced to use Dar es Salaam because Mtwara port lacks anchoring space. He said ships carrying gas pipelines and Dangote Cement occupied much of the space at the port of Mtwara. “We have shipped only 74,056 tons via Mtwara port, a big part of our consignment averaging 75,686 tons is being shipped through Dar es Salaam port,” Juma said. Although the purchasing period has not yet ended, he said, figures point out that there is a significant increase in production of that cash crop. “So far we have collected a whopping 195,000 tonnes of cashewnuts, an amount that has never been recorded since the country began producing the said cash crop,” he said. The rise is attributed to better distribution of crop inputs to farmers and their willingness to apply better agricultural techniques including proper conservation methods such as drying, seasoning and grading before transporting them to the warehouses.