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Mtwara Farmers

Primary product

Cashew Nuts

Cashew is traded as two quite different products. Raw cashew nuts are a raw material bought for the kernel they will yield; cashew kernels are a finished food product bought for the grade they are. Almost every question in cashew procurement starts by establishing which of the two you are buying.

Request a cashew quoteCompare kernel grades

Which product are you buying?

The answer determines everything downstream — what parameters matter, how it is packed, which container suits it and what the negotiation is about.

From raw nut to graded kernel

Shelling, drying, peeling and grading turn raw cashew nuts into the commercial kernel grades. Kernel outlines are drawn to relative scale across the whole white grades.Shelled kernels pass through peeling, then are separated by whole-versus-broken, then graded by size into W180, W210, W240, W320 and W450, and finally sorted by colour. Kernel outlines are drawn to relative scale: W180 is the largest and W450 the smallest.ShellingDrying & peelingWhole / broken separationSize gradingW180larger → smallerW210larger → smallerW240larger → smallerW320larger → smallerW450larger → smallerlargest kernelsmallest kernelColour sorting follows size gradingKernels of one size are then separated by colour, which is what distinguishes a white grade from a scorched grade of the same size.
Figure: Shelling, drying, peeling and grading turn raw cashew nuts into the commercial kernel grades. Kernel outlines are drawn to relative scale across the whole white grades.

Why source East African cashew

The honest answer is that origin is a weaker signal than most buyers assume. Outturn, count, moisture and defect levels are properties of a lot, established by test, and the variation between lots within an origin in a single season is routinely wider than the difference between origin averages.

What East African sourcing does offer is concrete and logistical. A southern-hemisphere season that arrives at a different point in the year from Asian crops, which matters for a processor scheduling raw material through a year. Two comparable origins in one buying window — Tanzania and Mozambique — which allows a genuine like-for-like comparison on assessed parameters. And short routes to sea, with Mtwara sitting inside the main Tanzanian growing area.

That is what the region actually gives a buyer. Claims about inherent quality superiority would be exactly the sort of statement this site avoids making.

Raw cashew nut expertise

The parameters that decide what a lot of raw material is worth, each covered in depth.

Cashew kernel grades

Whole white grades run from W180 to W450, with scorched and broken grades below them. The right grade is decided by one question: does the buyer of your finished product see the individual kernel?

Cashew origins

Raw cashew is sourced from Tanzania and Mozambique in this programme. Other East African origins in the map supply different products.

Schematic map of East African sourcing originsA simplified diagram showing the relative positions of Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique, with the Indian Ocean to the east and the load ports of Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Mtwara, Nacala and Beira marked along the coast. Shapes are schematic and are not to scale. Each territory links to its origin page.INDIAN OCEANUgandaKenyaRwandaBurundiTanzaniaRaw cashew nuts, groundnuts, macadamiaMalawiMozambiqueRaw cashew nutsMombasaDar es SalaamMtwaraNacalaBeira
Figure: Schematic diagram of sourcing origins and load ports. Shapes show relative position only and are not a cartographic representation of borders, coastline or area.

Origins in this programme

Availability is product-specific. Each origin page states which products are offered from that country and, where relevant, which are not.

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Primary origin
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Established origin
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Developing origin
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Listed for context

Cashew season

Indicative harvest and trading windows for cashew.
ProductCountryHarvest monthsMain trading periodTypical availability
Raw cashew nutsTanzaniaApprox. October – JanuaryMain buying window follows first arrivalsIndicativeHighest volume early in the season; later lots are more variable and must be assessed lot by lot.
Raw cashew nutsMozambiqueApprox. September – DecemberOverlaps the Tanzanian windowIndicativeOffered alongside Tanzanian material; comparison is made on assessed outturn, not on origin alone.
Cashew kernelsProcessed originNot a single-window cropNot seasonal in the same senseYear-round, against processing programmesIndicativeAvailability follows shelling capacity and raw stock rather than the field harvest. Grade mix varies with the raw material being processed.
Table: Indicative harvest and trading windows for cashew.Rows marked indicative have not been confirmed against a specific sourcing area for the current season. Harvest and trading windows move with rainfall, with local regulation and with the growing area inside a country. Confirm dates with the sales desk before fixing a shipping programme.

Quality, processing and logistics

Where to go next

Depending on what you are trying to decide.

Ready to specify cashew?

Send the grade, quantity, packing format, destination port and required period. Those five details are what make an offer possible on the first reply rather than the third.

Request cashew quoteHow to request a quotation

Next step

Send the specification you actually need

Quantity, packing format, destination port and required period are what turn an enquiry into a workable offer. Include them and you will get a specific answer rather than a price range.

Request a quoteEmail the desk