IMPROVEMENTS at Mtwara port have led to a notable rise in the number of companies using the port this season, rising to six from three during the 2023/2024 season.

At that time PIL, MSC and CMA CGM used the port for cashew exports while in the current season, this number has increased to seven, with SL, ECSL and COSCO joining up.

Francis Alfred, the Cashew Board of Tanzania (CBT) managing director confirmed that cashew production has risen this year, with 238,000 tons already sold for export. 

No obstacles are being met by shipping companies operating at Mtwara port in relation to ships or containers for cashew exports this season, he stated, contrasting with previous years. 

He pointed at enhanced collaboration between buyers and shippers, as by late November TPA had facilitated the shipment of 133,000 tons of raw cashew nuts to international markets. 

It marks a 121 per cent increase from 60,079 tons shipped during the same period last year, he said, noting that 17 ships had arrived and been serviced at the port, with 14 loading container vessels and three carrying cashews packed in bags. 

A total of 3,366 containers had been loaded and dispatched out of the 7,621 containers at the port for the cashew crop, he stated, while port authorities affirm that the government invested over 157.8bn/- in improving the port.

These achievements are a direct result of that investment as prior to port upgrades, cashew tonnage from the southern regions was transported by truck to the Dar es Salaam harbour for export.

Herman Colman, an Export Trade Group (ETG) executive, said that this season has seen a vast improvement, with 40,000 tons of cashew nuts already shipped, up from 26,000 tons last season at this time of the year. 

An online entry says that ETG connects commodities sourced at the farm gate level to local economies, local economies to the broader marketplace and emerging markets to each other and the world. 

ETG has more than three decades of experience building regional agribusiness supply chains in the world's fastest growing markets, with operations extending across procurement, processing, warehousing, transport, distribution and merchandising, it says of the group’s activities, tied to the World Economic Forum, a Swiss global executives’ platform.

 The infrastructure network enables ETG to store commodities close to their point of origin and move them to match their origination capabilities to global consumption patterns, he stated.

 “This is due to improved services and the availability of enough ships to meet the demand,” he said, elaborating that operators can now load and ship the goods on time, reducing costs for customers, the end-users.

He hailed the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) for modernising equipment enabling increased efficiency and cargo handling capacity, thus attracting numerous foreign vessels operators transporting cashew nuts to international markets.

Omega Makanjiro, a cashew trader in Mtwara who uses the port for exports, noted that the recent improvements allow three ships to be serviced at the new and old docks at any moment.