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Mtwara Farmers

Sourcing

East African Sourcing Origins

Seven East African countries appear in this programme, and they do not all do the same thing. Each origin page states which products are actually sourced there, which are not, and what the practical shape of a transaction from that country looks like.

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Sourcing across East Africa

Seven origins, and they do not all supply the same products. Select a country to see what is genuinely offered from it.

Select a sourcing origin
Stylised 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 along the coast. Shapes are stylised and are not a cartographic representation of borders or coastline. Each territory links to its origin page.INDIAN OCEANTanzaniaMozambiqueKenyaMalawiUgandaRwandaBurundiMombasaDar es SalaamMtwaraNacalaBeira
Stylised diagram of sourcing origins and load ports. Shapes show relative position only.

Tanzania

Tanzania is the centre of this sourcing programme. Cashew production is concentrated in the southern coastal regions, and raw nuts move through a regulated marketing system before export, which shapes how lots are formed, how they are sampled and how quickly a buyer must move once a lot is identified.

Key sourcing regions

Load ports

Mtwara · Dar es Salaam

Explore Tanzania

Mozambique

Mozambique is the second raw cashew origin in this programme. Production is concentrated in the northern provinces, and the season broadly overlaps the Tanzanian one, which makes the two origins directly comparable within a single buying window — on assessed outturn and count for the specific lot, rather than on origin as a proxy for quality.

Key sourcing regions

  • Nampula
  • Cabo Delgado
  • Zambézia

Load ports

Nacala · Beira

Explore Mozambique

Kenya

Kenya is approached primarily as a macadamia origin, with groundnuts as a secondary line. Trade rules affecting macadamia — particularly the export of nut-in-shell — have been revised between seasons, so the practical question for a buyer is not only what is grown but what may lawfully leave the country in the season being contracted.

Key sourcing regions

  • Central highlands
  • Eastern region
  • Coastal belt

Load ports

Mombasa

Explore Kenya

Malawi

Malawi is a groundnut origin. It is landlocked and normally routes through Mozambican ports, so transit time and the condition of the cargo on arrival at the port are central to any Malawian offer — particularly for groundnuts, where moisture control through the inland leg is directly connected to aflatoxin risk.

Products offered

Key sourcing regions

  • Central Region
  • Northern Region

Load ports

Beira (transit) · Nacala (transit)

Explore Malawi

Uganda

Uganda is approached as a groundnut origin, with macadamia developing. It is landlocked, so cargo moves overland to a coastal port before shipment; that adds an inland leg to the cost, the lead time and the moisture-control problem, and it is the first thing to settle when comparing a Ugandan offer with a coastal one.

Products offered

Key sourcing regions

  • Eastern Uganda
  • Northern Uganda
  • Central Uganda

Load ports

Mombasa (transit) · Dar es Salaam (transit)

Explore Uganda

Rwanda

Rwanda appears in this programme as a developing macadamia origin. Volumes are small relative to Kenya, and the country is landlocked, so a Rwandan offer is normally only competitive where a buyer is taking part loads, is building a second origin deliberately, or is buying into a specific supply-chain arrangement.

Products offered

Key sourcing regions

  • Northern Province
  • Western Province

Load ports

Mombasa (transit) · Dar es Salaam (transit)

Explore Rwanda

Burundi

Burundi is listed for completeness rather than as an active offer. Where an enquiry names it, the practical questions are the same as for any landlocked origin: which port the cargo will route through, what the inland leg does to the delivered cost and the transit time, and whether lot sizes are large enough to make a full container sensible.

Products offered

Listed for context — handled on an enquiry basis.

Key sourcing regions

  • Northern provinces

Load ports

Dar es Salaam (transit)

Explore Burundi

Sourcing across East Africa

Relative positions of the origins in this programme and the load ports that serve them. Availability is product-specific — no product is offered from every country.

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 OCEANUgandaGroundnuts, macadamia (developing)KenyaMacadamia, groundnutsRwandaBurundiTanzaniaRaw 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

Origin is not a quality grade

It is tempting to treat origin as shorthand for quality, and it is a mistake. Outturn, nut count, moisture and defect levels are properties of a lot, established by test. The spread between lots inside a single origin in one season is routinely wider than the difference between origin averages.

What origin genuinely determines is the *shape of the transaction*: how material is marketed and aggregated, which ports serve it, what documentation accompanies it, what the season looks like, and how quickly a buyer has to move. Those differences are real and they are what these pages describe.

A buyer choosing between two assessed lots should choose on the assessment. A buyer choosing between two origins before any lot exists should choose on logistics, season fit and how the market operates.

Origins at a glance

Products sourced from each origin in this programme
CountryRoleProducts offeredLoad ports
TanzaniaPrimary originRaw cashew nuts, groundnuts, macadamiaMtwara, Dar es Salaam
MozambiqueEstablished originRaw cashew nutsNacala, Beira
KenyaEstablished originMacadamia, groundnutsMombasa
MalawiEstablished originGroundnutsBeira (transit), Nacala (transit)
UgandaDeveloping originGroundnuts, macadamia (developing)Mombasa (transit), Dar es Salaam (transit)
RwandaDeveloping originMacadamia (developing)Mombasa (transit), Dar es Salaam (transit)
BurundiContext onlyEnquiry basis onlyDar es Salaam (transit)
Table: Products sourced from each origin in this programmeLandlocked origins route through a neighbouring country's port, shown here as the transit gateway. Product availability is confirmed at quotation.

Seasonal availability across origins

Indicative windows. Confirmed for the specific sourcing area before a programme is fixed.

Indicative harvest and trading windows for East African nut and oilseed products.
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.
Macadamia (in-shell)KenyaApprox. March – JuneBought against the season, subject to local rulesIndicativeIn-shell and kernel availability are affected by national trade rules that change from season to season; confirm current status before contracting.
Macadamia (in-shell)TanzaniaApprox. March – JuneSmaller offering than KenyaIndicativeVolumes are smaller; suited to buyers taking part loads or building a second origin.
GroundnutsTanzaniaApprox. May – AugustPost-harvest, after drying to target moistureIndicativeAvailability depends on drying and storage conditions after harvest as much as on the crop itself. See aflatoxin management.
GroundnutsMalawiApprox. April – JulyPost-harvestIndicativeRegional groundnut origin; offered where lot quality and documentation meet the buyer requirement.
CopraCoastal East AfricaNot a single-window cropCoconut palms bear through the yearAvailability follows drying conditionsIndicativeCopra supply is shaped by drying weather and by competing local demand for fresh nuts, not by a single harvest month.
Table: Indicative harvest and trading windows for East African nut and oilseed products.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.

Origin pages

Ready to specify a sourcing programme?

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.

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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.

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