The inaugural fair brings growers, buyers and logistics firms together as Tanzania’s avocado shipments surpass their 2030 target and the country looks to help more farmers reach export markets.
ARUSHA, 8 November 2026 — HortiLogistica Africa opens today at the TGT Grounds in Arusha, bringing international buyers to one of Tanzania’s oldest horticultural hubs. The three-day fair will connect growers and exporters with retailers, investors and logistics firms. Agriculture Minister Daniel Chongolo said more than 3,000 delegates from 42 countries were expected.
The Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) is hosting the fair with Kostiv Investment and support from the Ministry of Agriculture. The exhibition runs through Tuesday, 10 November, with the formal launch scheduled for Monday. Chongolo said Vice President Deogratius Ndejembi would officiate.
Tanzanian exporters have used overseas fairs to find buyers. At Fruit Logistica in Berlin in 2025, they secured deals worth US$12.6 million, according to TAHA. The Arusha fair brings those conversations to a growing region, with meetings between growers and buyers and sessions on how smallholders can compete and how Tanzanian avocado exporters can reach European markets.
Avocados surpass their 2030 export target
Tanzania exported 52,000 tonnes of avocados worth US$97.2 million in the 2025/26 season, according to the Cereals and Other Produce Regulatory Authority. That surpassed the national target of 40,000 tonnes by 2030. Since 2020/21, shipments have more than tripled and earnings have more than doubled.
The wider horticulture figures are more mixed. In its initial figures for calendar year 2024, the Bank of Tanzania recorded US$569.3 million in horticultural exports, ahead of both tobacco and cashew nuts. Its October 2026 review put horticultural exports at US$377 million in the year to September, down from US$415.8 million in the previous 12 months and below tobacco’s US$527.1 million. Fruit and flower receipts rose, while vegetable receipts fell. The government is targeting US$2 billion in annual horticultural exports by 2030.
Four corridors, different markets
The fair’s host city is in the Northern Corridor, where farms around Arusha and Kilimanjaro grow vegetables and cut flowers for export. The same corridor includes Tanga, where orange farming supports thousands of growers in Muheza. In the Southern Highlands, avocado growers in Njombe and Mbeya have built links with exporters through farmer groups, collection centres and packhouses.
Elsewhere, horticulture serves different markets. Dodoma and Singida in the Central Corridor are major onion-growing regions. In the Mtwara Corridor, where cashew remains a priority, research by REPOA has documented certified seed potato production in Lindi. Across the four corridors, horticulture ranges from crops grown for domestic and regional markets to fresh produce shipped overseas.
For growers, access to a buyer can depend on decisions made well before harvest. In the Southern Highlands, avocado farmers working with TAHA and TradeMark Africa adjusted their spraying and harvest schedules to meet buyers’ requirements for pesticide residues and fruit maturity. Members of the Parasonjo Farmer Group in Njombe told TradeMark Africa that certification had reduced rejections and helped them secure more consistent contracts. Keeping that certification, they said, meant finding TSh10 million each year to renew it.
The journey from farm to buyer
A Bank of Tanzania working paper identifies storage, transport links and certification as areas where investment could improve export performance. The fair brings service providers together with growers and buyers. For a smallholder, the practical questions are where to take a harvest for grading and packing, how quickly it can be cooled, and whether enough growers can combine their produce to fill an order.
A buyer meeting in Arusha can lead to an order. Filling it week after week takes collection points close to farms, affordable certification and transport that keeps produce in saleable condition. Whether growers can count on those services after the fair closes will help determine how far its commercial reach extends.
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