(4 minutes read)
· Avocados from Tanzania are the latest craze fetching at
least US$12 million (Sh27.6 billion) annually, adding to the country’s
foreign exchange: a decade back or so, Avocados export was non
–existent.
· The World Avocado Organisation (WAO) predicts a growth rate
of 50 percent: between 500,000 and 700,000 tonnes for Europe in the
next ten years.
Avocados from Tanzania are the latest craze fetching at least US$12
million (Sh27.6 billion) annually, adding to the country’s foreign
exchange. A decade back or so, Avocados export was non –existent. The
Tanzania Horticultural Association (Taha), as well as the Avocado
Catalogue 2020 report, reveal that avocado exports phenomenally
increased from 1,877 tonnes in 2014 to 9,000 tonnes in 2019, fetching
the country US$12 million last year. Farm-gate prices also rose from
Sh450 per kilogramme in 2014 to Sh1,500 in 2020 courtesy of Taha’s
painstaking efforts to develop the avocado value chain in the country.
The government and Taha jointly worked to establish a
state-of-the-art facility in Njombe where farmers can store their
fresh produce. Njombe has also emerged as a hub to connect with
buyers. The cultivation and trading of avocados are rapidly gaining
traction among the local farmers, replacing even coffee production in
some areas.
Over 10,000 farmers in the country are involved in avocado production,
triggering its export surge by 380 percent in a span of five years,
according to official data.
Tanzania’s avocados are exported to Europe. Europe consumes over
one million tonnes a year, making the region one of the largest
consumers of the fruit in the world. . The World Avocado
Organization (WAO) predicts a growth rate of 50 percent: between
500,000 and 700,000 tonnes for Europe in the next ten years. The EU
market represented 85 percent of Tanzanian avocado exports in 2018.
France imported 3,133MT; the Netherlands: 2,304MT, and UK: 1,193MT.
Tanzania is the second largest producer of avocado fruit in Africa
after Kenya. Kenya produces about 190,000 tonnes per year of which
between 5,000 and 10,000MT are exported.
Tanzania is evolving strategies for fast-tracking its avocado
exports to Beijing’s niche market. China’s avocado imports are value
at US$105 million per annum.
The stringent phytosanitary issues is a stumbling block. Tanzanian
avocados fail the stringent Chinese phytosanitary norms basically for
lack of bilateral arrangements between the two countries.
The harvest periods for avocados in Tanzania are from January to
March, and May to August. The fruit is mainly grown in Kilimanjaro,
Mbeya, Njombe, Songwe, Iringa Kigoma, Tanga, Kagera and Morogoro
Regions. Global production of avocados has increased by 178 per cent,
rising from 891,000 tonnes in 2011 to 2.5 million tonnes in 2018 –
mostly driven by high demand in the US and Europe.
