Tanzania president fires ministers over cashew prices

DAR ES SALAAM: Tanzania’s President John Magufuli said the government could buy up the country’s cashew nut stock after he fired two ministers and dissolved the industry regulator in a row over the price of the commodity.

Last month, Magufuli ordered a 94% increase to cashew nut prices at the industry regulator’s auctions and fired the organisation’s head in moves he said were aimed at safeguarding farmers from unsustainably low prices.

Cashews are the most valuable of the East African nation’s export crops, but falling prices have prompted Tanzanian farmers to halt sales, saying operational costs were higher than what was offered for the produce.

Minister of Agriculture Charles Tizeba and his trade counterpart Charles Mwijage were dropped from their posts, the presidency said late on Saturday.

Japhet Hasunga was named as the new agriculture minister while Joseph Kakunda will be in charge of trade. The government has asked cashew nut buyers to submit their purchasing plans by today.

On Saturday, Magufuli visited a military unit and inspected 75 vehicles that will be used by the government to facilitate the purchasing of cashew nuts in the country should private buyers fail to take up the crop at the government prescribed price of 3,000 shillings (RM5.45) per kilo.

The government will use the army and the board of mixed crops to purchase all cashew nuts at the price of more than 3,000 shillings, Magufuli said.