Act on claims of cashew nut scam, govt urged

 Dodoma. A parliamentary committee yesterday advised the government to take urgent action following reports that a consignment of cashew nuts exported recently to Vietnam was mixed with a substantial amount of stones.

The Agriculture, Livestock and Water Committee said when tabling its report for the period from January 2017 to January 2018 that 172 tonnes of the crop bought by Vietnamese traders after last season’s harvest contained 78 sacks of cashew nuts that were mixed with stones.

Committee chairperson Mary Nagu said when reading the report that the team had received the complaints with concern.

She added, however, that there were no such complaints regarding cashew nuts exported to other parts of the world.

Dr Nagu said a total of 320,000 tonnes of cashew nuts were exported to various countries during the 2016/17 season, adding that complaints about the Vietnamese consignment were unsettling.

“Following these complaints, the committee demands an explanation because such reports tarnish the country’s image and put the cashew nut business at considerable risk.’’ The revelation was made at a time when cashew nut farmers in Mtwara, Lindi and Coast regions are reported to have increased production of the crop following a steep increase in prices paid to growers in the last two marketing seasons.

Cashew nut production in Tanzania last season was 265,000 tonnes, but Cashewnut Board of Tanzania director general Jarufu Mkuruge said last November that this season’s harvests could rise to between 350,000 and 400,000 tonnes.

“When prices climbed last season, farmers increased production and the government supported them through the provision of farming inputs. We see production increasing significantly to mirror rising prices,” he told The Citizen.

The price of a kilogramme of unprocessed cashew nuts soared to Sh3,800 last season from Sh1,250 during the 2015 harvest season. With cash-laden foreign buyers lining up to buy Tanzanian cashew nuts, prices are expected to range between Sh3,800 and Sh4,065 per kilogramme this year.

Dr Nagu told Parliament yesterday that her committee had formed a nine-member team to investigate claims that part of the cashew nuts exported to Vietnam were mixed with stones. The team has been given 14 days to undertake the investigation and come up with recommendations.

“The committee appeals to MPs to advise the government to carry out its own investigation and seal all loopholes that make it possible for unscrupulous individuals to sabotage the cashew nut trade.”

The recommendations on the cashew nut business were part of a 70-page report that detailed the successes and challenges public institutions and companies faced in the past year