Government Launches Process to Open New Markets for Priority Crops

Dodoma, Tanzania – September 18, 2024: The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Hon. David Silinde (MP), has announced that the Government of Tanzania, through the Ministry of Agriculture, will continue to implement various strategies to strengthen the competitiveness of domestically produced crops in international markets and open new ones.

Hon. Silinde made these remarks on September 18, 2024, in Dodoma, during the launch of a new market-opening process for priority crops, which include avocados, bananas, tobacco, potatoes, vanilla, pineapples, cloves, black pepper, and cocoa.

The Deputy Minister outlined the strategies being implemented, including the Agricultural Marketing Policy of 2008, the National Horticulture Development Strategy for 2021–2030, and the Youth Strategy in Agribusiness being implemented under the Building a Better Tomorrow (BBT YIA) program, running from 2022 to 2030.

The launch of this market-opening process is a crucial step towards overcoming phytosanitary barriers that currently hinder the export of these crops to targeted countries.

Hon. Silinde added that the launch aligns with the directives of President Samia Suluhu Hassan to ensure secure markets for agricultural products. He also handed over documents for the market opening to countries where Tanzania has yet to reach market opportunities for these priority crops due to preconditions that must be met before exports can begin.

The countries targeted include China (vanilla and pineapples), India (vanilla and pineapples), Indonesia (cloves), Singapore (cloves), Israel (avocados), Malaysia (avocados), Canada (black pepper), Turkey (pineapples), Brazil (pineapples), USA (cocoa), South Africa (bananas), Zambia (potatoes), Pakistan (tobacco), and Iraq (tobacco).

Hon. Silinde explained that the initial estimated value of the export sales for these crops stands at USD 3.5 billion, with the potential to increase through value addition and enhanced marketing strategies.