<p>Cashew farmers have pocketed over Sh450 billion from 212,000 tonnes traded during the ongoing auctions in the 2021/22 trading season.</p> <p>The amount have been accrued amidst stakeholders concern that the season has been featured with low prices offered by buyers during auctions, hence significantly affecting revenues generated by farmers.</p> <p>Therefore, they recommend streamlined process to ensure more cashews are processed locally in order to trade kernels instead of the traditional auctioning of Raw Cashew Nuts (RCN).</p> <p>Addressing a press conference in Mtwara on Friday, the Cashewnut Board of Tanzania (CBT) director general, Mr Francis Alfred said following existing logistics challenges, only 30 percent of procured cashews has been exported.</p> <p>He said, however, that not all procured cashews are exported immediately after procurement, noting that some buyers hoard the product in warehouses and export at their conveniences.</p> <p>According to him, as compared to last season, cashew production was expected to increase, hinting that already a significant part of cashews has been traded as compared to 280,000 anticipated tonnes.</p>