Tanzania’s president axes ministers over nut prices

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli says the government can 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.

In October Magufuli ordered a 94% hike in 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 nation’s export crops, but falling prices have prompted Tanzanian farmers to halt sales, saying operational costs are higher than what is offered for the produce.

Minister of agriculture Charles Tizeba and his trade counterpart Charles Mwijage were fired, the presidency said late on Saturday. Japhet Hasunga was named agriculture minister and Joseph Kakunda will be in charge of trade. The president, who had accused the cashewnut board of failing to manage the industry properly leading to the low prices of the crop, also disbanded the board.

The government has asked cashew-nut buyers to submit their purchasing plans by Monday. 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 should private buyers fail to take up the crop at the governmentprescribed price of 3,000 shillings a kilogram ($1.31).

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 a kilogram, Magufuli said.