Kenya: "Ban cashew nut exports",

Kenya: "Ban cashew nut exports", State toldThe Government has been urged to ban the exportation of raw cashew nuts to revive the industry. The chairman of Millennium Management Limited, a local nut processing firm, Mr Charanjit Singh Hayer, said cashew nut processors only handle about 22,000 tons of the raw nuts produced in the country. He said that it was estimated that more was exported to India by other players in the industry.He was speaking to 38 MPs from the East African Legislative Assembly based in Arusha in Tanzania who paid him a courtesy call in his office.Mr Hayer said: "If the Government controls the marketing of the raw nuts in the country and leaves it to local processors, employment opportunities can be created."Severe problemsHe said that only four companies were involved in the processing of cashew-nuts in the country. Mr Hayer said that his company was faced with severe problems in getting raw nuts as they were being bought by traders who exported the produce to India.He added that they had collected only about 270 tonnes this season, enough to run the factory for only 30 days."The purpose of our tour is to give legislators the opportunity to see and learn the problems facing the private and public sectors in the region so that when we are talking in our Parliament we can see how to tackle the issues emerging in every member state," said Speaker Abdirahim Abdi.Source: allafrica.com