TANZANIA – For the first time in history, Tanzania is set to host an International Cashew Conference (TICC) 2023 to promote investment opportunities available in the country’s cashew industry according to Daily News TZ.
Themed ‘Invest in Cashew for Sustainable Development,’ the three-day conference will be held from October 11 to 13 this year at the Julius Nyerere International Conference Centre (JNICC) in Dar es Salaam according to Mr Francis Alfred the Director General of Cashew Nuts Board of Tanzania.
Tanzania is one of the largest cashew producers in Africa, with exports providing 10-15 percent of the country’s foreign exchange.
According to the Cashewnut Board of Tanzania (CBT), the production of raw cashews has increased from 210,786.804 tonnes in 2020/2021 to 240,158.752 tonnes in 2021/2022 equivalent to14 percent following various steps taken by the government and other stakeholders to boost the crop farming.
Additionally, the Cashewnuts Board of Tanzania is also targeting to increase production to 1,000,000 million tonnes by 2026.
However, despite such excellence in the production of the cash crop, only 5 percent of the raw cashew nuts are being processed locally with the other 95 percent being exported.
In a bid to support the cashew industry, the government is determined to increase domestic processing capacity to 60 percent come 2023/2026 to create a sustainable impact in the cashew industry.
Recently, the government announced plans to construct a modern cashew processing facility in the Mtwara region with a processing capacity of 300,000 tons of cashew annually.
The historic conference, therefore, comes at a time when Tanzania has committed to exploring possible opportunities to generate lucrative profits from processed cashews before exporting.
According to Mr Francis Alfred, more than 30 cashew-producing countries from Africa and abroad are among the countries to attend the conference with an attendance of more than 500 participants.
The conference is expected to open opportunities to both local and foreign investors looking for areas to develop viable business ventures in the cashew industry.
The conference will also discuss opportunities available in the cashew industry, right from production, processing, and marketing.
Among the expected cashew processing giant countries include Ivory Coast, Cambodia, India, Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Benin.
Other countries that will be in attendance are Ghana, Madagascar, Zambia, Mozambique, Kenya, Mauritius, Comoro, and the host country -Tanzania.
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