Vietnamese company to buy 176,000 tonnes of Tanzania’s cashew nuts

Dar es Salaam. The government has today September 13, unveiled T&T Group of companies of Vietnam as the firm behind the deal to purchase 176,000 tonnes of raw cashew nut (RCN) out of 224,522.553 tonnes that was produced in the 2018/19 season.

Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Mr Omary Mgumba told the Parliament in Dodoma last week that all cashews had been sold, but without naming the buyer, the quantity sold and the price.

He assured cashew nut farmers that all their outstanding amounted to Sh103 billion would be paid before the start of the 2019/20 season.

Today the deputy Permanent Secretary for the ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Mr Ramadhan Mwinyi Muombwa commended the T&T Group of Companies and the Cereals and Other Produce Board (CPB) for the deal.

“The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two sides in August this year will enable the Vietnamese firm to purchase 176,000 tonnes of cashew nuts from Tanzania,” he said.

Mr Muombwa was speaking as the chief guest during the reception to mark the 74th anniversary of the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Mr Nguyen Kim Doanh said it was the first time that a single Vietnamese business firm is buying almost all cashew nuts from Tanzania.

“The deal is a result of the visit of Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, Trinh Dinh Dung, the bilateral trade and investment ties between the two countries,” he said.

Describing the company, Mr Trinh said in August 2018, it signed MoU with the government of Guinea Bissau to purchase 150,000 to 200,000 tonnes of RCN annually.

He said in March this year, the company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Ivory Coast’s Cotton and Cashew Council (CCA) for importation of RCN.

The agreement requires importation of 200,000 tonnes of RCN in 2019, 300.000 tonnes in 2020 and 400.000 tonnes onwards after 2020, according to him.

“Also, a cashew processing plant with annual capacity of 50,000 tonnes will be built in Ivory Coast,” he said, expressing his hope that T&T Group and other big groups of Vietnam companies will become big trade partners of Tanzania and other countries in the continent.

Efforts to reach the ministry of Trade and Industry to clarify on the remaining 48,522.552 tonnes of cashew nuts proved futile.