TANZANIA has burst into United States (US) cashew nut market by yesterday exporting at a go and directly an eight-tonne air cargo of processed cashew nuts to New Orleans, Louisiana, opening the door for future shipments.
The exporter is Ward Holdings Tanzania Limited (WTH), a subsidiary of Ward Holdings International, a Michigan-based global market development and investment company.
The groundbreaking flight of the cargo was witnessed by the Agriculture Deputy Minister, Mr Anthony Mavunde at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) Export Cargo Terminal.
Mr Mavunde hailed the efforts of the company, saying the efforts were supportive of the government plan that seeks to have 60 percent of Tanzania's cashew nuts locally processed by 2025.
"If our plan succeeds, it means increasing new industries and creating more jobs for our youths," he said.
US Embassy Representative, Mr Robert Raines, said the shipment represents the growing business relationship between Tanzania and US.
"This step will boost the wellbeing of cashew nut farmers and promote their crop," he said.
WHT President, Mr Godfrey Simbeye, described the occasion as a "historic moment of cashew nuts grown, harvested and consumer-packaged in Tanzania being exported directly for the first time from farmers in Tanzania to the US marketplace. It is a win-win formula for Tanzanian farmers and American consumers."
Africa produces 60 per cent of the world's cashew nuts and the US is the largest importer of crop, he explained.
Mr Simbeye assured the gathering, which included business leaders, that Ward Holdings International is a reputed American market-maker which is "committed to the advancement of Tanzanian interests through industrialisation of its agriculture industry and high-value crops."
He also said that future Tanzanian cashew nut shipments will enter US through New Orleans, adding that Dar es Salaam and New Orleans signed recently sister city partner and bilateral trade agreements, "signaling the beginning of a robust business relationship."
