By Business Insider Reporter
The Tanzania Cashew Board (CBT) has assured investors establishing processing factories in the country that adequate supplies of raw cashew nuts will be available, as the country intensifies efforts to expand domestic processing capacity by 2030.
The assurance addresses one of the critical considerations facing investors in the processing industry: the availability of sufficient raw materials to sustain factory operations and justify investments in processing facilities.
CBT Director General Francis Alfred said the Board would work to ensure that investors committing substantial capital to processing plants are not left with idle facilities because of raw cashew nut shortages.
He made the remarks during a cashew stakeholders’ meeting organised by NMB Bank in Mtwara on November 7, bringing together processors, buyers and traders to explore financing opportunities and address challenges across the industry’s value chain.
Mr Alfred welcomed the bank’s engagement with industry players, describing collaboration between financial institutions and cashew businesses as essential to strengthening the sector and supporting the government’s ambition to increase domestic processing by 2030.
The expansion of local processing capacity is strategically important to the industry, as it offers opportunities to retain more value from cashew production within the country rather than relying predominantly on exports of raw nuts.
However, achieving this ambition requires more than investment in factory infrastructure. Reliable supplies of raw materials, accessible financing and efficient transactions are equally important to ensuring that processing facilities operate sustainably.
Mr Alfred urged other financial institutions to emulate NMB’s example by engaging directly with industry stakeholders and developing financing solutions responsive to their needs.
He also called on banks to ensure timely payments to farmers, noting that prompt access to their proceeds would enable them to meet financial obligations and prepare for subsequent production activities.
NMB Bank’s Head of Agribusiness for Wholesale Banking, Christopher Mwalugenge, said the bank was prepared to support businesses across the cashew value chain throughout the 2026/2027 marketing season.
Among other things, the lender’s financing solutions are designed to help auction buyers and primary-market participants secure sufficient supplies while enabling domestic processors to obtain the raw materials needed to maintain factory operations.
For exporters,Mr Mwalugenge said NMB offers tailored financing to facilitate timely purchases and support the fulfilment of international supply contracts. The bank has also strengthened its payment and transaction services to facilitate commercial activities among participants in the industry.
The engagement highlights the importance of aligning agricultural financing with Tanzania’s industrialisation ambitions. Securing raw material supplies, financing purchases and processing operations, and ensuring timely payments to farmers will be essential to building a more competitive cashew industry.
