Tanzania currently exports an average of 36,520 tons of avocados per year, generating around US$79 million annually. The country is working towards becoming Africa's fourth-largest avocado exporter, behind Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Morocco.
According to officials, strategies are in place to expand avocado cultivation into additional areas of southern Tanzania and to encourage more growers to enter production. Current initiatives focus on increasing planted area and improving grower participation rather than rapid volume expansion.
The Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) has established about 243 hectares of avocado orchards in the Ruvuma region, involving approximately 600 farmers. In the Morogoro region, a further 81 hectares have been planted, with 200 growers each managing around 0.4 hectares. Similar block-farming projects have also been introduced in Kigoma in western Tanzania.
SAGCOT chief executive Geoffrey Kirenga said global demand for avocados continues to increase, and Tanzania has the production capacity to respond. "If we support our farmers with things like quality seedlings and subsidized inputs like fertilizers, Tanzania can become a leading exporter of avocados," Kirenga said, adding that post-harvest handling remains a challenge.
To address production expansion, Tanzania has launched an initiative aimed at establishing larger avocado plantations in new high-potential regions. These plantations operate under a block-farming system, where each grower is responsible for a defined plot size.
SAGCOT is also running a program called Tajirika na Lusitu, launched in Lusitu village in Njombe Rural District. The program focuses on training farmers in recommended agronomic practices for avocado as a cash crop. Farmers trained under the scheme now act as peer trainers in other regions through a farmers-to-farmers training model.
Kirenga said future development will depend on infrastructure improvements, particularly cold storage and cold chain facilities, to maintain fruit quality for export. "Lowering tax burdens on avocado exports would attract more investors in the farming sector and ultimately increase government revenue through higher trade volumes," he stated.
The Ministry of Agriculture aims to raise national avocado production to 290,000 tons. Current production averages around 200,000 tons per year, mainly from Njombe, Mbeya, and Kilimanjaro, where altitude and soil conditions are suitable for avocado cultivation.
Tanzanian avocados are primarily exported to Asia, Europe, India, and the Middle East. Hass and Fuerte are the main commercial varieties shipped. The global avocado market is valued at around US$9.14 billion, with the United States, Canada, Japan, Spain, and the Netherlands among the main importers. The United States accounts for about 77.6 per cent of imports, followed by Canada with 8.2 per cent.
Source: The Tanzania Times
