The new cashew nut trading season is set to kick off in the first week of October, this year, Director General of the Cashew Nut Board of Tanzania (CBT), Francis Alfred has said. He said the board is currently finalising the drawing of guidelines and procedures to be followed during the auction before unveiling it for the citizens and other players who want to take part in the auction. The registration of prospective local and foreign buyers as well as other stakeholders expected to take part in the auction is set to start this week. "We have planned to start the auction in the first week of October with the aim to provide ample time to farmers to sell their cashew nut," he said, noting that the board intends to ensure 90 per cent of the cashew nut is sold by December. Last year's trading season kicked off on October 31st, a move the CBT boss said did not provide enough time to farmers and buyers to trade the product to their satisfaction. The CBT boss said the cashew nut auction will be through online trading and use of boxes systems. The aim, he said, is to ensure the majority of the buyers are reached including those located in countries that are still in lockdown due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. "We have planned to trade through online and boxes trading systems to expand the business to foreign markets. The online trading system will enable foreign buyers to bid their tenders through online and local buyers will bid through boxes," he noted. The Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX ) trained farmers and cooperative societies on the use of the online trading system and how it will work during the auction. The training was conducted in Mtwara, Lindi, Ruvuma, Tanga and Coast Regions. Mr Alfred said both online and boxes auction systems will be available in each and every farmer Cooperative Societies centre, placing big screens that will enable farmers to witness price offers and thereafter, buyers with the highest offer both in the boxes and online will be declared winners. On the other hand, the CBT boss said the board in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East Africa Cooperation has sent auction information to 43 Tanzanian embassies overseas, with the aim of expanding markets by attracting the foreign buyers. "The board has already started receiving inquiries through the Foreign Affairs Ministry from overseas buyers, who are inquiring for auction guidelines and the procedure of buying the cashew nuts," he said. Meanwhile, the CBT boss said the board has already acquired cashew nut packaging materials enough to be used during the auction. He said there are some 700,000 materials in stock.