Algerian Processor Plans Three Cashew Plants in Tanzania
Algerian cashew processor Anacard'Or plans to establish three processing plants in Tanzania, beginning with a facility in Masasi. The project supports Tanzania’s target of processing at least 60% of its cashew production locally by 2030.
First facility planned for Masasi
Algerian cashew processor Anacard'Or plans to establish three modern processing plants in Tanzania, adding private investment to the country’s effort to move beyond exports of raw, in-shell nuts. The Tanzanian Embassy in Algiers announced the project in a statement published on August 20, according to Ecofin Agency.
The first announced factory is expected to be built in Masasi, in the southern Mtwara region, one of Tanzania’s main cashew-producing areas. Anacard'Or Chief Executive Walid Dib said the project would be developed with a local partner through a newly created company, Kilimanjaro Nuts Limited. Neither the planned investment nor the processing capacity of the three facilities has been disclosed.
The initial timetable calls for warehouses in Masasi to be prepared and processing equipment to be ordered from Vietnam in September. The machinery is expected to begin arriving in Tanzania from January 2027. Experts are also due to travel with the equipment to train local workers, linking the investment to both industrial capacity and technical skills.
Tanzania seeks a larger share of processed exports
The project fits the Tanzanian government’s policy of expanding domestic processing and increasing the share of value-added cashew exports. The government wants to reduce sales of raw, in-shell nuts, which currently send much of the processing value to foreign markets. In March, Tanzania Cashew Board Director General Alfred Francis told Ecofin Agency that the government was working to create conditions capable of attracting more private processors.
The Tanzania Cashew Board aims to have at least 60% of national cashew production processed domestically by 2030. The gap remains substantial. Preliminary estimates from independent trade advisory service N'kalô indicate that Tanzania processed about 20,000 tons in 2025, while the country harvested nearly 528,000 tons in the 2024/2025 season. On those figures, existing local processing covered only a small fraction of available supply.
Dodoma is also using agro-industrial parks to accelerate capacity development. A cashew-focused park has been under construction in Maranje, in the Mtwara region, since 2023 with support from Arise. The long-term objective is to install processing facilities with combined capacity of 600,000 tons. Anacard'Or’s plants would form part of a broader industrial buildout rather than a stand-alone response to the processing deficit.
Harvest growth raises the capacity challenge
Raw-material availability is becoming less of a constraint as Tanzanian cashew production expands. Official data cited by Ecofin Agency show that the harvest rose from 155,244 tons in the 2015/2016 season to 617,683 tons in 2025/2026. The Tanzania Cashew Board is targeting 750,000 tons in the next season and 1 million tons by 2030, increasing the urgency of commissioning factories, warehouses and trained workforces at a comparable pace.
More domestic processing could give growers and local businesses greater exposure to the higher-value kernel market, while reducing Tanzania’s reliance on raw-nut buyers and overseas processors. However, Anacard'Or’s contribution cannot yet be quantified without capacity, financing and commissioning details. Equipment arrival from January 2027 will be an early test of execution, while the larger question is whether the three plants and other planned projects can scale quickly enough to absorb a harvest moving toward the government’s 1 million-ton objective.
