Tanzania: Govt Casts Tobacco Market Net Wider

THE government is considering exploring the Middle East, Northern Africa and Eastern Asian markets for its locally-produced tobacco as it attempts to enhance its position in the global tobacco market.

Despite dramatic declines in smoking, the tobacco industry remains the largest provider of foreign currency in the country with an annual return of $265m.

Minister for Agriculture, Prof Adolf Mkenda, announced this recently after his meeting with the management and members of the Tanzania Tobacco Board (TTB) that the government wanted to export its finest tobacco to China, Middle East, Indonesia, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan, among other countries.

“To succeed we must revive our processing factories with immediate effect,” he said, noting that two of the country’s processing factories in Morogoro and Songea are no longer working,” he said.

Prof Mkenda, who seemed to be irked by foreign buyers trying to monopolise the cash crop, said his ministry would seek audience with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation to adopt a government strategy to reach foreign markets.

“The situation where some buyers are skipping locally-produced tobacco or want to buy it at a very low price force farmers to sell their produce to neighbouring countries,” he said.

The minister said traders were going to Zambia to buy the same tobacco they rejected in Tanzania and at a high price, terming it unacceptable.

He urged the tobacco board to ensure competitiveness in the cash crop as the government struggle to reach a wider market.

Prof Mkenda expressed concern that contracts agreed between farmers and dealers were limited compared to the volume of tobacco produced in the country. He also urged embassies and high commissions of Tanzania to help explore more foreign markets.

Tanzania is the 9th largest tobacco producer in the world. Its production, however, has been largely hit by world market buyers who control the price and volume of tobacco to enter the market.

Deputy Minister for Agriculture Hussein Bashe said global demand for tobacco had declined by five per cent. Mr Bashe noted that tobacco production in Tanzania was expected to rise to 67,000 metric tonnes in 2020/21 from 42,000 metric tonnes in 2019/20.

“This is due to the emergence of local buyers,” he said. According to the government, 65 per cent of cigarettes produced in Tanzania are exported to foreign countries.

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