Tanzania’s president fires two ministers over cashew nut prices, dissolves regulator
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. In October Magufuli ordered a 94% increase 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 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 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 cashew nut board of failing to manage the industry properly leading to the low pr...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.