Tanzania is Africa's third largest exporter of foodstuffs to the rest of the world; the East African nation leads the EAC region. Its food crop production reached 9.3 million tons in 2018/19, compared to 9.7 million tons 2014/15 (-4 per cent). Among the country's main staple crops are cassava, potatoes and bananas.
Crop exports accounted for 1.9tri/- ($830million), which equates to nine per cent of the total value of Tanzania's exports in 2019, compared to 1.8tri/- (793million) in 2015, representing an increase of 5 per cent.
In Africa, a continent with severe food insecurity challenges, most food comes from abroad. Between 2016 and 2018, about 85 per cent of food was imported from outside the continent. The index further projects that even as its population grows; net food imports to Africa are expected to triple by 2025 as undernourishment grows by one-third.
Source: allafrica.com
