Tanzania has exported its first consignment of processed cashew nuts to the United States, as the country seeks to move away from exporting raw nuts to value-added ones.
The eight-tonne cargo of processed cashew nuts was dispatched to New Orleans, Louisiana via the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam.
Last month, a 20-foot container carrying 7.5 metric tonnes of branded consumer packaged cashew nuts also left Mtwara for the US.
The exporter is Ward Holdings Tanzania Limited (WTH), a subsidiary of Ward Holdings International, a Michigan-based global market development and investment company.
While flagging off the cargo, the country’s Deputy Minister for Agriculture Anthony Mavunde said WTH is supportive of the government’s plan to ensure that by 2025, 60% of Tanzania’s cashew nuts are processed locally.
Currently, the country processes less than 10% of its cashew nuts, with the remainder being exported raw.
