The continent’s first international horticulture trade platform draws exhibitors from 45 countries. Leaders call for an end to post-harvest losses, the revival of rose exports, and connections that become contracts.
ARUSHA, 9 November 2026. For years, Tanzania’s fruit and vegetable growers have travelled to Berlin, Rotterdam and Asian trade fairs, carrying their produce to convince buyers that world-class avocados really do come from Tanzania. On Monday, the buyers came to them.
Vice President Deogratius John Ndejembi officially opened HortiLogistica Africa 2026 at the Friedkin Recreation Centre in Arusha. It is the first international horticulture trade and investment exhibition of its kind held in Africa. Exhibitors and delegates came from 45 countries across Africa and beyond to connect producers, exporters, buyers, investors, logistics providers and policymakers under one roof.
The three-day exhibition runs from 8 to 10 November 2026 under the theme Bridging Markets, Cultivating Prosperity (Kuunganisha Masoko, Kukuza Ustawi). It is organised by the Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) and hosted by the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania through the Ministry of Agriculture. CRDB Bank is lead sponsor.
“It is a matter of great joy and pride for us that HortiLogistica Africa 2026 is taking place in Tanzania for the first time,” the Vice President said. “And not only in Tanzania, but in Africa for the first time. That is a very big thing.”
From Visitors to Hosts
Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary Gerald Mweli said the platform fills a gap that has long put African producers at a disadvantage.
“This is the first platform in Africa that brings together producers and buyers of fruits and vegetables,” he said. “The world has had these platforms: Fruit Logistica in Germany, and the same platforms in Asia. But there was no platform for Africa, which is the producer.
“We have been carrying our fruits to South Africa, to Germany and to Asian countries to tell them these fruits are produced in Tanzania. Now we have brought them here to see where the fruits are produced.”
The bigger aim, he said, is for international buyers to meet Tanzanian farmers face to face and see where the world’s leading avocados come from. That way, Africa would no longer be “just a spectator of development and change in agriculture, but a participant”.
He said the Government gave TAHA permission for the event, helped mobilise funding and supervised preparations. “This shows that any private sector actor with an idea will find the Government ready to work with them.”
A Dream Carried Since 2008
For TAHA, the launch was the end of a long journey. Board Chairperson Mr Olaf Bogers described HortiLogistica Africa as “a dream we have carried for years”.
“In 2008, we began attending trade fairs in the Netherlands and later Berlin,” he said. “Our delegation was usually just three people: representatives and pioneer exporters. We felt small beside other countries’ impressive stands, but believed in Tanzania’s potential.”
That persistence has paid off. In February 2026, 42 Tanzanian companies exhibited on the TAHA stand at Fruit Logistica in Berlin.
“Africa can nourish the world with fruits, vegetables, tubers, spices and herbs, and bring beauty through flowers,” Mr Bogers said. “Realising this potential requires investment, global connections and a supportive business environment.”
He welcomed the Government’s reforms. He urged Tanzania and other African countries to go further, by strengthening dialogue with the private sector and removing barriers to investment and trade.
Arusha Regional Commissioner CPA Amos Makalla, the host, was more direct about who deserved the credit. “Jacqueline Mkindi should be given her flowers,” he said, praising the TAHA Chief Executive Officer as “a fighter”.
He noted that Arusha has hosted a long run of international meetings. They include a financial intelligence gathering of more than 120 countries and a Commonwealth meeting of revenue authority commissioners. He urged that more international conferences be brought to the region, where a large international convention centre is being built.
The Vice President’s Own TAHA Story
The Vice President told the audience a personal story that captured TAHA’s growth. Before entering public service, he worked as a sales and marketing manager for a Dar es Salaam telecommunications company. Around 2012–13, his Arusha team took him to visit a promising prospective client, an office on Mahakama Road behind a heavily guarded gate.
“In that office people were very busy,” he recalled. “You would hear phones: ‘the consignment is at Usa River, the plane lands at nine o’clock at night, the cargo must leave.’”
On the sofas he found green brochures showing flowers and greenhouses. He learned that the office coordinated farms in Usa River, Moshi and Arusha, linking farmers to markets. Vehicles in the yard carried donor-funded project number plates.
“I was told this is the horticultural association, TAHA,” he said. “The TAHA I found on Mahakama Road at that time is not the TAHA of today. TAHA is the reason we stand here today, proud that we have HortiLogistica Africa 2026, because of the hard work TAHA has put into growing horticulture across Tanzania.”
He added that TAHA now operates in both Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar.
The Numbers Behind the Opportunity
The Vice President set out the size of the prize. Africa’s horticultural exports rose from USD 15.4 billion in 2015 to USD 28.6 billion in 2025. He said the continent’s growing population of about 1.5 billion people, rapid urbanisation and rising demand for nutritious food make the African market itself a major opportunity.
Africa’s share of world trade remains small, at about 6 per cent of fruit trade and 17 per cent of vegetable trade. Global fruit and vegetable imports alone reached about USD 379.45 billion in 2024. The largest markets are the United States, Germany, China, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
“This share remains small because we are still not producing what the final consumer in those markets needs,” he said. He urged African producers to look beyond Europe, Asia and the Middle East and to use the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Tanzania’s own figures show momentum. According to the Vice President:
- the horticulture sector is growing at an average of 9 to 12 per cent a year;
- production rose by 15.9 per cent, from 8.44 million tonnes in 2022/23 to 9.78 million tonnes in 2024/25;
- horticultural export earnings reached USD 569 million in 2024, up from USD 290.7 million in 2020;
- avocado production, the crop known as “green gold”, rose by 36.2 per cent, from 149,340 tonnes in 2020/21 to 203,473 tonnes in 2025/26;
- avocado exports reached 52,593.72 tonnes, worth TZS 255.4 billion.
The Government, he said, is working to open 14 new export markets for Tanzanian produce. It is also building the capacity of farmers and other stakeholders on quality, standards and international trade procedures.
“We Produce a Lot, but We Lose It”
The Vice President was frank about what is still holding the sector back. He described driving through Msata during pineapple season and finding fruit on sale at every corner, much of it rotting where it was sold.
“It means we produce a lot. Our farmers give their all. But we lose the crop we produce,” he said. “I have only given the example of pineapples. Go to Njombe to the avocados and the challenge is the same. Go to Mbeya, Manyara and elsewhere: the challenge is the same.”
He praised the Government’s avocado seedling subsidies, made possible by funding from President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan. But he warned that losses could be as high as 40 per cent when the subsidised trees that actually produce market-grade fruit are counted. Even with avocado export earnings to celebrate, he said, Tanzania still has a great deal of work to do to add more value.
Growth would have been greater, he said, if government worked more closely with the private sector instead of “working behind closed doors”. He pointed to a young exhibitor, Mr Onakado, who never received subsidised seedlings. Working with TAHA, Mr Onakado secured an export market and now produces to international standards.
Bring Back the Roses
The sharpest message of the day concerned Arusha’s lost flower industry. The Vice President recalled that farms in the region once exported roses daily, with infrastructure built for the international market. When some of those farms were returned to government, he said, “the first thing we thought of doing was to cut plots”, and the land was subdivided for housing.
“Today, if I want to buy my wife flowers on Valentine’s Day, the flowers are imported,” he said. “Our neighbours now beat us in exporting roses, yet we had the infrastructure and everything.”
He accepted that the city must grow and be planned to its international standing. But he directed the Minister of Agriculture to return the remaining farms to their original purpose, rose production. Young people in Arusha, he said, are keen to take them on.
“Today we are bringing together 45 countries here,” he said. “If we had roses, we would be signing contracts right here to export.”
Ms Mariam Ditopile, Vice Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Trade, Agriculture and Livestock, said the committee had taken note. It would follow up two points: the efficiency of TanTrade along the horticultural value chain, and the Vice President’s call to revive rose farming in Arusha.
Logistics: Where Income Is Won or Lost
Mr Clement Tulezi, Secretary General of the Horticulture Council of Eastern Africa (HoCEA), explained why the event’s focus on logistics matters.
“When a consignment of fresh produce is delayed, it is not just a logistics problem,” he said. “It is lost income for a grower. It is a missed order for an importer. And it means a loss of confidence on the buyer’s side.”
HoCEA connects nine countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Somalia. Its mantra, he said, is to “produce nationally, connect regionally and compete globally”.
At its official launch in Nairobi in September 2026, the council adopted seven priorities. They range from removing non-tariff barriers to improving sanitary and phytosanitary systems. He set out three immediate actions:
- Competitive logistics: a proposed regional horticulture logistics competitiveness initiative, bringing exporters, carriers and authorities together on cargo consolidation and viable regional routes.
- Faster, more predictable borders: coordinated clearance, electronic phytosanitary certification, risk-based inspection and fewer duplicated documents, while keeping plant health and food safety strong.
- AfCFTA in practice: a market-to-market initiative, developed with TradeMark Africa, to connect exporters with buyers and distributors, starting with three to five priority opportunities.
“Nine countries, one region, one vision,” he said.
Development Partners: “Move Beyond Conversations”
Ms Suzanne Keatinge, Ireland’s Deputy Head of Mission, spoke on behalf of Ambassador Nicola Brennan and fellow development partners. She said the theme was both relevant and timely as Tanzania pursues the ambitions of Tanzania Development Vision 2050 (Dira 2050).
She linked the opportunity to the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy. That strategy could attract European investment into sustainable production, logistics, certification and value addition.
She named post-harvest losses as “one of the most significant constraints facing the sector”. She called for investment in cold chains, pack houses and temperature-controlled logistics. “These investments are not simply about efficiency. They are about protecting incomes, strengthening competitiveness and expanding trade opportunities.”
Ireland, together with Norway and other partners, supports TAHA and TradeMark Africa. Ms Keatinge stressed two priorities: inclusion of women, young people and small enterprises, and climate action.
“Integrating climate-smart solutions is not an add-on anymore. It is not a luxury,” she said.
She also set out the questions by which the event should be judged:
“When we look back at this inaugural event, let us ask ourselves: have producers secured reliable buyers? Have businesses gained access to finance and investment? Has less produce been lost on the journey to market? Are more women and young people earning sustainable incomes?”
“Behind Every Harvest Is a Family’s Hope”
Former Prime Minister Mizengo Kayanza Pinda spoke as Chairperson of the Presidential Food and Agriculture Delivery Council. He said the council regards horticulture as a strategic driver of growth, jobs, export earnings, and food and nutrition security.
“Behind every harvest is a farmer’s hard work and a family’s hope,” he said. “That effort deserves a reliable market and a fair return. A harvest becomes prosperity when it reaches the market and rewards the farmer.”
He named the national priorities:
- irrigation, cold chains, efficient logistics and value addition;
- stronger food safety and quality standards;
- connecting smallholders to finance and dependable buyers;
- access to land, capital, technology and skills for young people and women.
“I urge every participant to turn the connections made here into contracts, investments and jobs,” he said. “Let us follow through and measure the results.”
Building a Better Tomorrow for Young Farmers
Minister of Agriculture Daniel Chongolo said avocados, grapes, mangoes, flowers and vegetables are among the Government’s priority horticultural crops, because of their potential to raise incomes, attract investment and grow exports under Dira 2050.
He highlighted the Building a Better Tomorrow (BBT) programme, which helps young people and women enter agribusiness. It has so far engaged 2,960 young people in production across 18 local government authorities. That includes 249 at the Chinangali and Ndogowe block farms in Dodoma Region.
In Arusha, about 700 acres at the Mararua (Mlangarini) farm have been identified for the programme. It will benefit young people and women from Meru District Council, Arusha District Council and Arusha City Council.
“If we stop pushing this group into agriculture, we will soon find our elders leaving the field with no one to carry farming forward,” he warned. “Agriculture will become just a story.”
The Government sees the private sector as the engine of that growth. Deputy Minister in the President’s Office (Planning and Investment) Dr Pius Chaya said the private sector is expected to contribute 70 per cent of national output by 2050. He invited investors to take up opportunities in Tanzanian horticulture.
Recognition and the Road to 2027
The Vice President presented three awards:
- to himself, in recognition of his support and leadership in driving the HortiLogistica Africa vision;
- jointly to the Embassy of Ireland and TradeMark Africa, for partnership and support in realising the vision;
- to TAHA, for private-sector leadership, commitment and dedication. TAHA’s award was received by Mr Bogers and Dr Mkindi.
He then cut the ribbon and declared the exhibition open.
“If this is the beginning, the first event, with 45 countries and preparations like these,” he said, “it is my belief that if we work well together, government, TAHA and development partners, next year it will be far bigger than what we see now.”
He invited investors from around the world to put money into inputs and technology, aggregation centres, storage and cold-chain infrastructure, processing, quality certification and transport.
For Tanzania’s growers, the measure of HortiLogistica Africa will be simple: fewer pineapples rotting by the roadside, more avocados reaching premium markets, and roses once again leaving Arusha for the world.
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