Agriculture Minister blacklists avocado buyer over harvesting unripe produce

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The Tanzanian government has directed regional authorities in Njombe to ban Kandia Fresh Company from purchasing and selling of avocados within and outside the country. The directives were issued by Agriculture Minister Hussein Bashe due to the company’s alleged involvement in the purchase of unripe avocados and dumping them at the Njombe Town Council dumpsite.
Minister Bashe ordered the arrest of a company’s employee, David Sifuna Barasa, who was involved in the purchase of the avocados in question from two middlemen and without permits. When asked by Bashe why he bought unripe avocados, Barasa said that the products were harvested in good condition but they were poorly handled. When asked whether he had a permit to buy avocados from farmers, he confirmed that he did not.
It was at that point that Bashe asked law enforcers to arrest him, which they did. Sources claim that until January 8, Barasa had bought 11,423 kg of avocados in Njombe. However 5,200 kg of the products were of poor quality due to being harvested while unripe, and thus were dumped.
Source: thecitizen.co.tz