TANZANIA – Tanzania is set to benefit from a Chinese cashew processing plant to be opened at the Chinese Sunshine Industry in Mtwara region, reports AllAfrica.

The plant will have a capacity of processing 5,000 tonnes of cashew nuts per year.

Mr Joseph Kakunda, the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment in the country said that the government and the industries management are progressing with discussions and the industry is set to begin operations soon.

Chinese Ambassador in Tanzania, Ms Wang Ke said that this helps in maintaining and strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries especially in the sectors of industrial technology and trade issues.

“We have agreed to strengthen economic cooperation between our countries and the major issue is Tanzania to start processing cashew nuts at the Sunshine Industry in Mtwara Region,” she said.

The minister added that, the industry will help Tanzania to export processed cashew nuts in the foreign markets.

Tanzania is one of the largest cashew nuts producing country in Africa and ranks in the eighth position in the world.

The cashew nuts business in the country has been on the rise, attracting even more foreign investors into the product.

Of late, a Belgian investor expressed interest in opening up a cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) processing facility in the country

The premium quality cashew nuts produced y in the country is one of the major factors that has seen the industry gradual growth.

According to the Cashew Board of Tanzania, the country has seen not less than 10% of the total produce processed internally.

This is a major breakthrough to the Tanzanian government since it has been in the search for investors to establish a local processing plant for the nuts.

This comes as at a stage when China is making efforts to strengthen economic cooperation with African countries by investing into other industries across the continent.