CONOMISTS and business analysts are optimistic with President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan and her Mozambican counterpart, Mr Fillipe Nyusi’s determination to establishing an association of African cashew producers on the grounds that the body will strengthen farmers’ bargaining power in the world market.
The experts were reacting to President Nyusi’s visit to the country that saw the two Heads of State discussing a number of issues including the establishment of the body to oversee cashew businesses in the world market.The two Heads of State forged collaboration for enhancing trade in agro-crops in the continent and worldwide at large.
Economist cum Investment Banker, Dr Hildebrand Shayo told the ‘Daily News’ that the cashew nut’s body will enable farmers to trade their crops under observance of value of money. “If we can have a coordinated common selling point, we can bargain good price,” Dr Shayo said. He said the association of the continent’s cashew producers can also serve as the platform for discussion between farmers and manufacturers of agricultural inputs on matters pertaining to supplying of affordable fertilisers. He noted that Tanzania and Mozambique are the main producers of cashew in Africa which harvest in same seasons and sell to the similar market in India. According to Dr Shayo, the association is expected to act as business mouth piece for farmers to trade at reasonable price.
Moreover, he advised the two countries to establish joint cashew processing industries for value addition and create jobs while catalysing the entire production chain. “We must commit to an integrated strategy to support the business ecosystem,” Dr Shayo said.He said collective value addition can enable the two countries to have competitive advantage in the market including the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which is critical on widening their revenue base. For his part, Economic Analyst, Mr Kelvin Msangi urged the two countries to prioritise on developing and maintaining transport infrastructure including roads and cargo aircraft that can enhance the movement of goods astern African countries to increase funding of research institutions so that in return they can improve farming technologies and pest management.
Additionally, he said the government should continue fostering public-private partnerships to harness expertise and investment from the private sector. The cashew industry has a great potential to stimulate economies due to its global market potential, which was estimated at 7 billion US dollar in 2022 and is expected to further increase to 10.5 billion US dollar by 2031.
In Tanzania, production of raw cashews is projected to increase from an annual average of 220,000 tonnes over the last ten years (2013/14-2022/23) to 1,000,000 tonnes per annum by 2030, with intermediate targets of 400,000 tonnes in 2023/24 and 700,000 tonnes by 2026/27. The country also aims to process 60 per cent of raw cashew in order to add value and broaden its market, as well as promotion of local consumption of cashew nuts and its by-products such as jam, juice, cashew milk, wine, ethanol and oil. According to the Cashewnut Board of Tanzania (CBT), cashew production skyrocketed by 115,900 metric tonnes in the 2023/24 season, generating more earnings for farmers. The country’s cashew nut production stood at 305,014 metric tonnes in the 2023/24 season, up from 189,114 metric tonnes in the 2022–23 season.
The rise was attributed to the provision of subsidised agriculture inputs, whose value doubled to 188.99bn/- in 2023/24 season from 96.26bn/- recorded in the 2022/23 season, according to CBT’s primary assessment. As of March 2024, the crop generated 227.109million US dollars (about 603bn/- ), up from 162.363million US dollars (about 431bn/-) in the 2022/23) season.
The volume produced in 2023/24 is the highest in five years, according to CBT. Moreover, Mozambique expects to produce 160,000 tonnes of cashew nuts in 2024, which is 1.5 per cent more than 2023 estimate, despite climate effects, according to government information. According to documents supporting the Economic and Social Plan of the State Budget for 2024, the production comes from 9,734,000 cashew trees, from 188,983 producers, across the country. The document predicts “that the increase in the production volume of cashew nuts will increase from around 157,496 tonnes to around 160,000 tonnes in 2024”. Meanwhile, ISSA YUSSUF reports from Zanzibar that President Samia saw off President Nyusi at the Abedi Amani Karume International Airport (AAKIA)- Zanzibar after his three-day visit in the country.President Samia, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Mr Januari Makamba and other senior government executives from both Zanzibar and mainland were at the airport to see off the Mozambican Head of State and his delegation.