Attractive prices split cashew nuts dealers

A row is latency between local processors and exporters of raw cashews former caused by rising world prices of nuts.
Exporters said on Tuesday that the government ban on the export of raw nuts since 2009 is robbing the country's farmers the benefits of high world prices enjoyed by their counterparts in Tanzania.
They said they are planning to put a processing unit in Kenya.
"Rather than get into dispute with local processors, some of us have decided to launch a factory immediately," said Samuel Vargas, president of the Kenya Nut Cashew Processors and Exporters Association said in a statement that appears in the nation on Tuesday.
Mr. Vargas said that offer farmers higher prices - a minimum of Sh65 per kilogram per kilogram compared to SH55 they are getting from the current processors.
Drawing comparison to Tanzania, where this season saw the farmers get between $ 1.600 and $ 1.800 per metric ton or Sh65 and Sh75 per kilogram, farmers in Kenya, is supposed to receive $ 1.500 per metric ton or SH55 per kilogram, according to Mr . Vargas.
Nut Processors Association of Kenya (NutPAK) executive director D. Charles Muigai said international carriers, which dominated the market before the ban, only interested when world market prices are expected to increase.
This is when he said, that came with the high prices through middlemen who pay poor farmers in producer prices.
Prices are not different
"It may also require farmers to provide the nuts to their stores, where prices are paid factory. But once the transportation cost is taken into account, prices are different producer prices offered by other players, "said Muigai while exporters welcome other processors in the placement of units in the country.
He said that efforts to promote the production should be launched to save the industry, as production has fallen from more than 30,000 tons per year which is expected to be the poorest performance in this season of 8,000 tons.