A VIETNAMESE COMPANY TO LOOSE SH220MILLION ON CASHEWNUT SAGA

A Vietnamese firm has estimated that it stands to lose at least Sh220 million after stones were reportedly discovered in bags of a cashewnut consignment that it had exported from Tanzania for its client in the Southeast Asian country.

Starnut company director Hung Dieu told The Citizen on Sunday that the company had transported 36 tonnes, equivalent to 450 bags, to its Vietnamese clients Hoang Son Company and Tien Duc Company.

This was just part of a 920-tonne consignment bought at an auction in Lindi Region.

But according to Mr Hung, the first consignment was found with stones equivalent to 20 kilogrammes in each of the 44 bags, and that 10 other bags had approximately 10 kilogrammes of palm oil seeds in each bag.

“The consignment has a total of 980 kilogrammes of stones that has caused a total of $2,303 (about Sh5.6 million) and that the loss can exceed $100,000 (Sh220 million) for the whole 920 tonnes,” he said.

“This is a huge damage to our company in terms of its reputation in the cashew nut export industry built since 2013,” he noted.

“However, it is a bad impression created with regards to Tanzania’s trade and investment climate.”

According to him, Starnut purchased the merchandise in warehouse auctions organised and supervised by the Cashew Board of Tanzania (CBT).

But on Friday, deputy minister for Agriculture, Dr Mary Mwanjelwa, told Parliament that the government had formed a special committee to investigate and establish the truth on the scam.

“The government has formed a team that has been given two weeks to investigate the root cause of the problem. The findings will identify the culprits and appropriate measures to be taken,” she said responding to a question by Special Seats Member of Parliament Amina Mollel (CCM).

CBT acting director general Hassan Jarufu said that it was too early to comment on the issue bearing in mind that the issue was being investigated by the government.

However, he acknowledged that there were business people who have tarnished the country’s image for selfish reasons.

“This is not the first time we have experienced such a problem, but this time it is on the rise. The government should investigate the root cause of the problem.”

Source: The Citizen