Tanzania's First 2026/27 Cashew Auction Results: What Importers Should Read Into Them

Tanzania's 2026/27 raw cashew nut (RCN) auctions opened in Masasi on 12 October 2026. In the first week, the two sales with published price ranges cleared between TSh 2,970 and TSh 3,310 per kilogram. Radio Fadhila reported TSh 3,040 to 3,310 for the five Masasi lots sold before a network fault stopped that auction. Mwananchi reported TSh 2,970 to 3,280 for more than 7,000 tonnes sold by the Lindi Mwambao cooperative union on 17 October. Those figures are farm-gate bids for raw nuts in shillings. They are market data, not FOB export prices and not an Afri Exports quotation.

What has been reported so far (as of 20 October 2026)

• 27 September: the Cashewnut Board of Tanzania issued a public notice moving the start of 2026/27 auctions from 19 October to 12 October.
• 12 October, Masasi: the MAMCU union planned 64 lots. Radio Fadhila reported that 5 sold, at TSh 3,040 to 3,310 per kilogram, before network problems stopped trading. The rest of the sale was moved to 13 October. We have not found a published result for the resumed sale.
• 17 October, Mtama district, Lindi: Mwananchi reported that the Lindi Mwambao union sold more than 7,000 tonnes, with a top bid of TSh 3,280 and a lowest bid of TSh 2,970.
• Through the season: the schedule published by Korosho Cooperative Joint Enterprise (KCJE) rotates sales between the unions in Mtwara, Lindi, Ruvuma and Pwani, ending with a TANECU auction at Newala on 22 January 2027.

Why last season's numbers are a poor yardstick

The calendar has moved. Daily News reported that last season's auctions opened in early November 2025, after an earlier start planned for 31 October was postponed because of internet problems. This season's first sale came about four weeks earlier in the year. Daily News also reported that the 2025/26 TANECU opening auction in Tandahimba sold 26,254 tonnes through the Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX) platform at 2,550 to 3,520 shillings per kilogram.

It is tempting to set that range beside this year's and call a direction. Don't. The sales are from different unions, different districts and different weeks of the harvest, and the first five Masasi lots are too small a sample to carry weight. A top bid shows what the best lots in one sale fetched. It does not tell you what an average container of the season will cost.

The crop size is the number still missing

We have not found a verified national estimate of the 2026/27 crop. The local signals point down. In a Mwananchi report of 16 October, the vice chairman of the Nangaru primary cooperative said August weather had kept cashew flowers from developing properly, so fewer nuts would set than last season. The Lindi Mwambao manager put the union's expected collection at 47,000 tonnes. One cooperative union's forecast is not the national crop. Watch the Board's cumulative sales figures as the season goes on rather than any single forecast.

What an auction price leaves out

The auction clears raw nuts at the cooperative warehouse, in shillings per kilogram. An importer buying raw cashew nuts FOB Mtwara or FOB Dar es Salaam under Incoterms 2020 is buying something different: the same nuts, plus everything needed to get them onto a ship.

• Warehouse handling, re-bagging and loading after the sale.
• Inland transport from the warehouse to the port.
• Export documents, fumigation and the phytosanitary certificate.
• Financing from auction payment to the buyer's payment, and currency conversion from shillings.
• Any export charges in force for the season. Check the current rules rather than assuming last year's.
• The exporter's own costs and margin.

So a firm auction week raises the floor under FOB offers, but it does not give you an FOB price. Ask exporters to quote on the same named port and Incoterm, and compare those offers against one another.

For RCN buyers: price the kernel inside the shell

Two lots that clear at the same shilling price can be worth very different amounts to a processor. What matters is the kernel out-turn (KOR) from the cutting test, along with moisture and nut count. A reported auction range covers lots of mixed quality. Before acting on it, ask for the KOR, moisture and nut-count results of the specific lot on offer, plus its crop year and district of origin, and write the tolerances into the contract.

For kernel buyers: watch, but don't infer

An auction report tells you what buyers paid for raw nuts this week. It does not tell you what W320 or W240 will cost next month. Kernel offers reflect the out-turn of the nuts the processor actually bought, the time and cost of shelling, peeling and grading, and demand in the international kernel market. Use auction news as context and ask for a quotation tied to a processed lot, grade and test report.

Checks before you act on auction news

• Who reported the result, and on what date? Prefer the Cashewnut Board, the union or a named news outlet over a reposted figure.
• Which union, district and sale does the price refer to? A Masasi sale and a Lindi sale are separate markets on separate days.
• Is the number per kilogram of raw nuts at the warehouse, in shillings? Converting it to dollars per tonne FOB needs everything in the list above.
• What KOR, moisture and nut count do the lots on offer carry?
• When can a lot bought now be released, cleared and loaded, and on which sailing?

We do not publish prices. If you want a quotation for raw cashew nuts or kernels this season, send the grade, quantity, destination port and shipment window through the supplier page. We quote FOB against a defined lot under Incoterms 2020, with the test results attached.