Tanzania`s cashewnut industry looks most interesting, puzzling
and quite prosperous, all at the same time. It is most
interesting because its history is characterised by ups and
downs; it is puzzling in the sense that it has always moved
forward and backward; and it’s quite prosperous in that this is
the second time it is doing the country proud economically. Bad,
however, that this gives little hope of the great and memorable
achievements the industry has made being sustained. The
industry, once the most prosperous in the country, is in serious
trouble with little precedent even as this year’s produce stands
at 155,000 tonnes, the highest ever recorded. The Cashewnut
Board of Tanzania says the quixotic part of the story is that,
despite this attractive figure, the industry has over 85,000
tonnes lying in godowns owing to problems with the warehouse
system. The consignment cannot be disposed of simply because
there are limited markets for raw cashewnuts. That aside, one
would have expected the raw cashewnuts