Author: ANNE ROBI
AfricaPress-Tanzania: CASHEWNUT Board of Tanzania (CBT) will this year start issuing special performance licenses to operators of cashewnut warehouses in a bid to ensure integrity in quality control and grading of the nuts auctioned in the market.
CBT Acting Director of Marketing and Quality Control, Domina Mkangara made the revelation yesterday, saying that the licenses will be issued during this 2020/21 cashew nut trading season.
“CBT has set various strategies in this trading season to ensure special quality control of the cashew nut, and one such plan is to start issuing special performance licenses to operators of our warehouses towards controlling the quality of the nuts we trade in the market,” she said.
Ms Mkangara said the board has been receiving complaints from the traders over auctioning of the low quality standard cashew nut; an issue she said was a hindrance in the sale of the country’s cashew nut in the local and international market.
She said the setback is mainly caused by dishonest warehouse operators in the process of grading and quality control of the products stored in the warehouses for auctioning.
The licenses will help guard the operators to observe quality control and required standard grading of the cashew nuts stored in the warehouses for auctioning. For those who will go against the instruction, CBT will cancel the operation permit.
“The board will start issuing special permits starting this year, and we will continue each year to guard on integrity among the operators, and failure to adhere to truthfulness, we will cancel the operation permits for the dishonest operators,” she said.
She said in 2017/18 cashewnut trading season, the country sold 95 per cent of the nuts as grade A, but in 2018/19 the quality of the nuts sold at grade A was only 88 per cent, a matter she said was fueled by lack of integrity among the storeroom operators in the process of grading the nuts.
She said the country has been in the record of producing quality nut, usually graded A in the market, saying that the board has the responsibility to ensure the standards are maintained for the good of the country.
Ms Mkangara made the revelation when officiating over five day training on cashewnut quality control to farmers, warehouse operators, extension and agricultural officers from Lindi, Mtwara and Coast regions.
The training facilitated by Naliendele Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) will help the farmers, warehouse operators and people involved in the market chain to observe quality control of cashewnut during production, grading, processing and marketing
Speaking during the training, the TARI Naliendele Centre Director, Dr Fortunus Kapinga said the training will help equip skills and knowledge to farmers and other participants on how to handle and produce quality nuts suitable for the international market standards.
“Our role as experts is to equip the knowledge and skills to farmers and traders on how to produce quality cashew nuts to suit international and local market standards,” he said, noting that the move will ensure integrity among all the dealers of cashew nuts in the country, including farmers.
Dr Kapinga said the participants will learn how to acquire and plant cashew nut varieties suitable for growing to produce quality nuts. The learning will also involve better process, production and quality control and grading as well as better transport.
