Tanzania has raked in Sh440.5 billion ($231 million) in revenue after exporting a total of 81,498 tonnes of coffee beans for the 2022/23 season.
This is Tanzania’s largest sale from coffee exports since it attained its independence in 1961. Tanzania Coffee Board managing director, Primus Kimaryo, has stated that an increase in production during the 2022/23 calendar made the sale possible .
Tanzania’s previous record for coffee production was 72,000 tonnes in 2020/2021. The 2021/2022 season had lower production numbers, but Tanzania still managed to export over 66,000 tonnes, earning $206 million.
Future Plans
Tanzania plans to reach a coffee production target of 300,000 tonnes by the 2025/26 season. To achieve this, coffee farmers will be issued free coffee tree seedlings. Nine to eleven million coffee tree seedlings will be distributed to the farmers by September 2023.
Tanzania’s coffee production has seen a percentage increment of 23% in 2023 compared to 2022. With such increments in production, the country’s production target of 300,000 tonnes by 2025/26 could be realised.
Background of Tanzania’s Coffee Industry
Coffee is Tanzania’s largest export crop, and the country annually reaps millions of dollars from its exports. Furthermore, coffee is an important part of Tanzania’s history, it was once used as a form of currency before the Germans and later the British colonised the country. The small-scale coffee tree farms have also created employment for over 30,000 Tanzanians.
Coffee is not a popular beverage among most of the Tanzanian population, compared to tea, so most of the patronage is foreign. Major buyers of Tanzania’s coffee include the United States of America, Italy and Japan, who buy around 12%, 19% and 22%, respectively of the coffee produced annually.
The industry has managed to stake a name for itself in foreign markets, especially in Japan, where Tanzanian coffee ha been branded Kilimanjaro Mountain Coffee. This has helped increased the value of Tanzanian coffee.
Tanzania is currently among the largest producers of coffee beans in Africa. The coffee producing countries section of the 2023 World Population Review ranked Tanzania fifth among Africa’s top coffee producing countries. Ethiopia, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire and Kenya hold the leading spots.
