DODOMA: The company Sparkle Way Ltd has been blocked from exporting over 500 tonnes of raw cashew nuts by the Tanzanian government. The reason for the action is the firm’s unpaid debt of Sh3.4 billion, which it owes to nut farmers in the Coast Region.
On December 18, this year, the minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Mr Mwigulu Nchemba, ordered Sparkle Way Ltd to pay the debt within 48 hours.
The regional commissioner for Coast Region, Mr Evarist Ndikilo, said he had information that until last week the company had paid Sh400 million but the government’s stance is that unless the total amount of debts are paid the responsible company would not be allowed to continue with cashew nut export transactions.
The situation implies that until last week the amount of debt paid was only 33.3 per cent, with the remaining figure amounting to Sh3 billion still being demanded by hundreds of farmers in the Coast Region.
During a press conference convened by the minister in mid-December to discuss cashew nut marketing crisis in the Coast region, the representative of the company, Mr Salum Mkemi, claimed that the payment of debts worth more than 500 metric tonnes of cashew nut were not settled in time due to the poor quality of cashew nuts.
Mr Mkemi said the company was worried about incurring more costs arising from exporting the consignment to India after auctioning excise.
