Cashew auctions and payments to farmers in Tanzania

Who does what

• Cashew Board of Tanzania: registers and licenses farmers, buyers, processors and exporters, issues buying and export permits, and appoints inspectors ².
• AMCOS: receive farmers' cashew, dry it, inspect quality and store it in warehouses ³.
• Warehouse Receipt Regulatory Board: runs the licence process for warehouse operators and links to its online WRMS service for goods received in warehouses ⁹.
• TMX: runs online auctions, holds buyer bonds and handles settlement through banks ¹⁰.
• Cooperative unions such as TANECU: organise auctions for their member societies ⁵.

From farm to auction

CBT reported on 10 October 2026 that farmers in Dihimba, Mtwara, were bringing cashew to the Dihimba and Mpondomo primary societies. The nuts are received, spread to dry to cut moisture, checked for quality and stored ³. CBT said the 2026/2027 sales season had started and auctions were expected to open on 12 October 2026 ³.

CBT says it trained AMCOS leaders ahead of the 2026/2027 sales season ¹. On TMX, receipts are grouped into lots with published quality and quantity. Licensed buyers fund a bond, bid in timed auctions, and the seller must consent to each sale ¹⁰.

How payment reaches the farmer

In September 2024, a new system was announced that would cut AMCOS out of the payment chain, which had caused payment delays, as reported by Louis Kolumbia of The Citizen. The visible article text did not say how farmers would then be paid ⁷.

• The winning buyer is invoiced and pays through the banking system ¹⁰.
• After payment is confirmed, the seller is paid and the buyer gets a release order to collect the cashew ¹⁰.
• The Warehouse Receipts Regulations, 2016 require all payments to go through a financial institution. Depositors must give buyers their account details ⁸.
• Supervision committees must see that depositors are paid according to the quality and quantity sold ⁸.
• Under CBT primary market rules, buyers must pay for cashew and the applicable levies before collecting it ⁴.

Recent season figures

Enforcement against buyers

On 5 September 2026, CBT Director General Francis Alfred said some processors collected cashew without paying on time or sought informal deals with AMCOS leaders, which can delay farmers' payments ⁴. CBT said it had denied an unnamed company permission to buy cashew, saying the company had collected, processed and sold farmers' cashew without paying them. It said it would not let buyers use agents not registered with the Board ⁴.