Tanzania agriculture: Production, trade & prices

3.1

Food crops

The Ministry of Agriculture reported total food crop production of 23.78 million tonnes in grain equivalent for the 2024/25 season, against 16.02 million tonnes in 2013/14, and a food requirement of 18.28 million tonnes for 2025/26, a self-sufficiency ratio of 130%¹². Maize reached 10.93 million tonnes and milled rice 2.64 million tonnes in 2024/25, while wheat covered 35% of the requirement¹. On FAOSTAT data, which use fresh weight and paddy, maize production rose from 4.73 million tonnes in 2010 to 10.08 million tonnes in 2024 and fresh cassava from 4.55 million tonnes to 10.53 million tonnes³. FAO forecast the 2026 cereal harvest at a near-average 12.8 million tonnes after drought hit parts of Dodoma and Mbeya in January 2026⁴.

Maize and paddy rice production

United Republic, million tonnes, 2010–2024 (FAOSTAT)

Year	Maize (million t)	Rice, paddy (million t)
2010	4.73	2.65
2011	4.34	2.25
2012	5.1	1.8
2013	5.36	2.19
2014	6.74	2.62
2015	5.9	2.98
2016	6.15	3.43
2017	6.68	2.45
2018	6.27	3.41
2019	5.65	3.47
2020	6.71	4.53
2021	7.04	4.05
2022	6.54	4.14
2023	8.01	3.59
2024	10.08	4.05

Source: FAOSTAT · MoA budget speech 2026/27 · World Bank WDI — FAOSTAT years correspond to the harvest of the season ending in that year for most food crops (FAOSTAT 2023 maize equals the Ministry of Agriculture figure for 2022/23). Several years are FAO estimates. The Ministry reports 10.93 million tonnes of maize for 2024/25 and rice as milled rice. The World Bank puts the cereal yield at 1,872 kg per hectare in 2024⁵.

Root crops, bananas and pulses

United Republic, million tonnes, 2010–2024 (FAOSTAT)

Year	Cassava, fresh (million t)	Bananas (million t)	Sweet potatoes (million t)	Beans, dry (million t)	Sorghum (million t)
2010	4.55	3.16	2.42	0.87	0.8
2011	4.65	3.14	3.57	0.68	0.81
2012	5.46	2.52	3.02	1.2	0.84
2013	4.76	2.68	3.47	1.11	0.83
2014	4.99	3.19	3.5	1.11	0.88
2015	5.89	3.58	3.45	1.2	0.68
2016	5.2	3.16	3.98	1.19	0.74
2017	4.03	2.53	5.44	1.43	0.76
2018	8.37	3.4	3.74	1.1	0.67
2019	8.18	3.41	3.92	1.2	0.73
2020	8.5	3.11	3.4	1.27	0.75
2021	9.19	3.3	2.91	1.29	0.81
2022	10.8	3.27	1.85	1.27	0.77
2023	11.7	3.23	1.8	1.48	0.74
2024	10.53	3.27	2.23	1.46	0.8

Source: FAOSTAT — Fresh weight. The Ministry of Agriculture's food balance converts cassava, bananas and potatoes to grain equivalent, so its figures are much lower and not comparable.

Food crop production

Tanzania Mainland, million tonnes in grain equivalent, seasons 2013/14–2024/25 (Ministry of Agriculture)

Season	Cereals (million t)	Non-cereals (grain equivalent) (million t)	Total (cereal split not found) (million t)
2013/14	9.83	6.19	–
2014/15	8.92	6.61	–
2015/16	–	–	16.17
2016/17	9.39	6.51	–
2017/18	9.54	7.35	–
2018/19	8.9	7.4	–
2019/20	10.87	7.33	–
2020/21	10.87	7.79	–
2021/22	9.23	7.91	–
2022/23	11.45	8.95	–
2023/24	14.59	8.22	–
2024/25	14.92	8.86	–

Source: MAFC budget speech 2015/16 · MALF budget speech 2016/17 · MoA budget speech 2018/19 · MoA budget speech 2023/24 · MoA budget speech 2021/22 (summary) · MoA budget speech 2024/25 · MoA budget speech 2025/26 · MoA budget speech 2026/27 — Each season is reported in the Ministry's budget speech of the following year. Non-cereals (pulses, bananas, cassava and potatoes) are in dried grain equivalent and rice is milled. For 2015/16 only the total was found. Cereals and non-cereals for 2017/18 to 2020/21 are own sums of the crop rows of Table 11 of the 2023/24 budget speech, which reproduce its totals of 16.89, 16.29, 18.20 and 18.67 million tonnes. For 2020/21 paragraph 23 of that speech prints non-cereals of 7,990,792 t, while its total less cereals gives 7,790,792 t, consistent with the crop rows⁸. The total rose from 16.02 million tonnes in 2013/14 to 23.78 million tonnes in 2024/25.

Food self-sufficiency ratio

Tanzania Mainland, production of the previous season as % of the food requirement, consumption years 2014/15–2025/26

Consumption year	Self-sufficiency ratio (%)
2014/15	125
2015/16	120
2016/17	123
2017/18	120
2018/19	–
2019/20	–
2020/21	–
2021/22	–
2022/23	114
2023/24	124
2024/25	128
2025/26	130

Source: MAFC budget speech 2015/16 · MALF budget speech 2016/17 · MALF budget speech 2017/18 · MoA budget speech 2018/19 · MoA budget speech 2023/24 · MoA budget speech 2024/25 · MoA budget speech 2025/26 · MoA budget speech 2026/27 — Ratios as printed in the Ministry of Agriculture budget speeches. 2025/26 is the 2024/25 harvest of 23,783,128 t against a requirement of 18,279,054 t. Values for 2018/19 to 2021/22 were not found in the speeches available online.

Area harvested of main crops

United Republic, million hectares, 2010–2024 (FAOSTAT)

Year	Maize (million ha)	Cassava (million ha)	Rice, paddy (million ha)	Cashew nuts (million ha)	Beans, dry (million ha)
2010	3.05	0.87	1.14	0.25	1.21
2011	3.29	0.74	1.12	0.41	0.74
2012	4.12	0.95	0.8	0.41	1.27
2013	4.12	0.86	0.93	0.41	1.15
2014	4.15	0.8	0.96	0.43	1.11
2015	3.79	1.09	1.15	0.48	1.12
2016	3.88	1	1.24	0.38	1.04
2017	3.82	1.2	1.1	0.51	1.12
2018	3.55	0.98	1.03	1.22	0.9
2019	3.43	0.99	1.05	0.57	0.89
2020	4.2	1.23	1.37	0.61	0.96
2021	4.4	1.48	1.35	0.63	0.99
2022	4	1.69	1.42	0.7	0.95
2023	4.2	1.83	1.2	0.92	1.09
2024	5.74	1.64	1.3	1.33	1.05

Source: FAOSTAT — FAOSTAT area harvested. Many recent values are FAO estimates or rounded figures from external sources (for example maize in 2020–2023), so the trends are indicative.

Self-sufficiency by crop

Production 2024/25 as % of the requirement for 2025/26, Tanzania Mainland

SurplusDeficit100% = requirement met

Beans

258%

Rice (milled)

213%

Sorghum

177%

Maize

148%

All food crops

130%

Cassava (grain equivalent)

92%

Wheat

35%

Source: MoA budget speech 2026/27 — Ministry of Agriculture budget speech 2026/27, Table 1, ratios as printed.

Food balance by crop, production 2024/25 against requirement 2025/26

Crop	Production 2024/25 (t)	Requirement 2025/26 (t)	Surplus or deficit (t)	Self-sufficiency (%)
Maize	10,925,025	7,386,333	3,538,692	148
Sorghum	1,029,306	582,045	447,261	177
Rice (milled)	2,639,969	1,238,367	1,401,602	213
Wheat	115,826	328,703	−212,876	35
Cereals total	14,924,582	12,056,694	2,867,889	124
Beans	1,245,906	483,645	762,261	258
Bananas (grain equivalent)	1,413,582	1,148,964	264,618	123
Cassava (grain equivalent)	2,649,254	2,868,655	−219,402	92
Non-cereals total	8,858,546	6,222,361	2,639,286	142
All food crops	23,783,128	18,279,054	5,504,074	130

Source: MoA budget speech 2026/27 — Tanzania Mainland, Ministry of Agriculture budget speech 2026/27, Table 1. Millet, other pulses and potatoes are included in the totals. The table layout in the PDF is partly misaligned, and non-cereal rows were checked against the published totals.

3.2

Export crops

Raw cashew production, which the Ministry reports by marketing season, rose from 189,114 tonnes in 2022/23 to 528,264 tonnes in 2024/25, a figure marked as provisional in the 2025/26 budget speech, and 617,684 tonnes had been recorded for 2025/26 by March 2026¹⁰¹¹¹⁴. Tobacco sales reached 185.8 million kg in the 2024/25 crop season, worth US$475.5 million at an average of US$2.56 per kg, from 112,982 registered farmers¹⁵. Coffee output was 81,366 tonnes in 2024/25 and seed cotton 222,014 tonnes in 2025/26 to March 2026¹¹¹⁴. Sisal fibre production rose to 59,416 tonnes in 2023/24 on Sisal Board data, of which 33,535 tonnes were exported for US$54.8 million¹⁶. Tea output, at 22,772 tonnes of made tea in 2024/25, has not regained the levels of the mid-2010s¹¹⁶.

In Zanzibar clove production alternates between large and small harvests, from 7,841 tonnes in 2021 to 1,167 tonnes in 2024 and 5,230 tonnes in 2025, and seaweed production rose from 10,531 tonnes in 2021 to 20,075 tonnes in 2025¹⁷. Zanzibar exported 3,186 tonnes of cloves worth TZS 52.8 billion in 2025¹⁷.

Raw cashew nut production

United Republic, cashew nuts in shell, thousand tonnes, 2010–2024 (FAOSTAT)

Year	Cashew nuts, in shell (thousand t)
2010	74.2
2011	121.1
2012	160
2013	127.9
2014	130.1
2015	197.9
2016	155.4
2017	265.2
2018	313.8
2019	225.1
2020	232.7
2021	210.8
2022	240.2
2023	310.8
2024	528.3

Source: FAOSTAT · MoA budget speech 2025/26 · MoA budget speech 2026/27 — The bars show FAOSTAT values for the United Republic. The FAOSTAT 2024 value (528,262 t) matches to within 2 t the Ministry of Agriculture figure for Tanzania Mainland for the 2024/25 marketing season, 528,263.82 t, marked as provisional in the 2025/26 budget speech¹¹. The Ministry reported 617,684 tonnes for Tanzania Mainland for 2025/26 by March 2026¹⁴.

Traditional export crops

United Republic, thousand tonnes, 2010–2024 (FAOSTAT)

Year	Seed cotton (thousand t)	Tea leaves (thousand t)	Tobacco, unmanufactured (thousand t)	Coffee, green (thousand t)	Sisal (thousand t)
2010	267	144	60.9	40	26.4
2011	163.6	139	130	60.6	24.8
2012	225.9	143	120	66.2	25.7
2013	357.1	147	86.4	71.2	34.9
2014	245.8	146	80.5	49	37.3
2015	203.3	155	100.3	42.7	39.2
2016	149.4	142	60.7	60.9	42.3
2017	132.9	117	58.6	47.7	36.5
2018	222	148	50.5	45.3	40.6
2019	348.9	162	70.8	68.1	33.3
2020	349	125	37.5	60.7	36.4
2021	122.8	140	58.5	73	36.2
2022	144.8	145	70.7	66.8	44.2
2023	174.5	120	122.9	62.9	56.7
2024	282.5	128.8	117.5	77.4	61.2

Source: FAOSTAT · TCB · TTB — FAOSTAT data cover the United Republic, while the Ministry of Agriculture reports for Tanzania Mainland. FAOSTAT years map to different marketing seasons for different crops. FAOSTAT 2024 seed cotton equals the Ministry figure for 2023/24, and tea is green leaf, while the Ministry reports made tea. The Tobacco Board reports 185,776 tonnes of tobacco sales for the 2024/25 crop season¹⁵.

Oilseeds

United Republic, thousand tonnes, 2010–2024 (FAOSTAT)

Year	Sunflower seed (thousand t)	Groundnuts (thousand t)	Sesame seed (thousand t)
2010	313	465	144
2011	787	651	357
2012	820	810	456
2013	780	1,425	420
2014	800	1,635	540
2015	860	1,836	680
2016	950	640	730
2017	990	650	620
2018	1,000	670	640
2019	1,040	680	680
2020	1,075	690	229
2021	1,120	895	236
2022	1,150	937	79
2023	1,170	586	267
2024	1,200	760	273

Source: FAOSTAT — Most sunflower and sesame values are FAO estimates or figures from external sources (flags E, I and X), so the trends are indicative.

Zanzibar cloves and seaweed

Zanzibar, thousand tonnes, 2016–2025 (OCGS)

Year	Clove production (thousand t)	Clove exports (thousand t)	Seaweed production (thousand t)	Seaweed exports (thousand t)
2016	–	3.72	–	5.44
2017	–	7.08	–	12.02
2018	–	0.86	–	18.22
2019	–	1.74	–	11.2
2020	–	3.51	–	11.38
2021	7.84	6.78	10.53	12.61
2022	4.73	6.45	12.59	13.97
2023	2.65	3.2	16.65	11.74
2024	1.17	1.97	19.72	7.09
2025	5.23	3.19	20.07	3.9

Source: OCGS · Zanzibar MAIRNL budget speech 2023/24 — Zanzibar Statistical Abstract 2025, Tables E.3.3, F.1.4 and F.1.5. The export table header reads '000 tons' but the values are in tonnes, consistent with the production table. Clove harvests alternate between large and small seasons.

2^nd

Sisal

61,216 t world production rank, 2024²¹

3^rd

Cashew nuts, in shell

528,262 t world production rank, 2024²¹

4^th

Dry beans

1.46 Mt world production rank, 2024²¹

Traditional export crops by marketing year, Tanzania Mainland (Ministry of Agriculture)

Crop (tonnes)	2016/17	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	2025/26 to Mar 2026
Cashew (raw nuts)	265,238	210,786	240,158	189,114	254,500	528,264	617,684
Seed cotton	121,639	122,836	144,792	174,486	282,510	149,361	222,014
Coffee	48,329	73,027	66,837	82,000	66,071	81,366	74,664
Tobacco	58,639	58,508	70,699	125,592	117,464	185,776	–
Tea (made tea)	26,975	27,510	24,825	26,754	13,525	22,772	11,631
Sisal	36,533	36,170	44,151	48,359	56,733	61,216	64,322
Sugar	330,843	367,718	379,280	460,049	395,293	431,737	410,979

Source: MoA budget speech 2018/19 · MoA budget speech 2023/24 · MoA budget speech 2024/25 · MoA budget speech 2025/26 · MoA budget speech 2026/27 · TTB — Tanzania Mainland, latest value published in the Ministry of Agriculture budget speeches. Several 2024/25 values were provisional, and 2025/26 values run to March 2026 with some seasons still open. Marketing-year labels differ between sources. Tobacco for 2024/25 is the Tobacco Board's final sales figure for the 2024/25 crop season (185,776 tonnes), which the Ministry of Agriculture budget speech 2026/27 lists under 2025/26, and no tobacco figure for the 2025/26 crop season is shown¹⁵. FAOSTAT values for the United Republic are shown in the export crops chart.

World production ranks, 2024

Product	World rank	Production (t)	Share of world (%)
Sisal, raw	2	61,216	26.2
Cashew nuts, in shell	3	528,262	12.5
Beans, dry	4	1,463,819	4.9
Pigeon peas, dry	4	224,587	4.8
Sweet potatoes	4	2,227,515	2.4
Unmanufactured tobacco	9	117,464	1.9
Bananas	9	3,269,970	2.3
Cassava, fresh	10	10,532,000	3.1
Sesame seed	10	272,670	4.1
Maize	15	10,084,000	0.8
Coffee, green	16	77,417	0.7

Source: FAOSTAT — Own calculation from FAOSTAT all-country data (release of December 2025), countries only. FAOSTAT values for sesame and some other crops are estimates, so the ranks are indicative. By stocks, Tanzania ranked 9th for cattle and 10th for goats.

3.3

Livestock and fisheries

FAOSTAT puts the cattle herd at 39.1 million head in 2024, the ninth largest in the world on its data, with 28.6 million goats and 9.5 million sheep²²²¹. The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries reports 40.6 million cattle for 2025, a figure that rises by the same 1,328,246 head in each year from 2021 to 2025, starting from the 33.9 million counted in the 2019/20 census²³. Milk production reached 4.22 billion litres in 2025/26 to April 2026, 67% of it from indigenous cattle, and meat production 1.10 million tonnes²³.

The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, whose mandate covers Tanzania Mainland, reports capture fisheries production of 519,454 tonnes in 2025 and fish farming of 58,868 tonnes, up from 16,288 tonnes in 2018²⁴. Fish fillet exports were US$88.3 million in 2025²⁵.

Livestock numbers

United Republic, million head, 2010–2024 (FAOSTAT)

Year	Cattle (million head)	Goats (million head)	Sheep (million head)
2010	19.2	13.6	3.6
2011	21.3	15.2	6.4
2012	22.8	15.6	7
2013	24.5	16	7.7
2014	25.8	16.7	8.7
2015	26.7	18	6.2
2016	27.7	19.2	6.5
2017	28.7	20.7	6.7
2018	30.5	21.8	7
2019	32.1	23.1	7.6
2020	33.6	24.3	8.1
2021	35.3	25.6	8.8
2022	36.6	26.6	9.1
2023	37.9	27.6	9.4
2024	39.1	28.6	9.5

Source: FAOSTAT · MLF budget speech 2026/27 · World Bank WDI — FAOSTAT stocks. The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries reports 40.6 million cattle for 2025, a figure that rises by the same 1,328,246 head in each year from 2021 to 2025, starting from the 33.9 million counted in the 2019/20 census²³. FAOSTAT and Ministry figures for pigs and poultry differ widely and are not shown. The World Bank livestock production index reached 187.7 in 2024 (2014–2016 = 100)²⁶.

Milk, meat and eggs

United Republic, thousand tonnes, 2010–2024 (FAOSTAT)

Year	Milk (thousand t)	Meat (thousand t)	Eggs (thousand t)
2010	1,865	447	85
2011	1,957	496	85
2012	2,077	523	87
2013	2,148	541	87
2014	2,246	565	102
2015	2,327	588	104
2016	2,390	593	114
2017	2,364	584	126
2018	2,687	706	144
2019	2,582	707	163
2020	3,436	764	205
2021	3,801	796	226
2022	3,964	829	249
2023	4,318	989	290
2024	4,399	1,079	322

Source: FAOSTAT · MLF budget speech 2026/27 — The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries reports milk production of 4.22 billion litres and meat production of 1.10 million tonnes for 2025/26 (to April 2026).

Fisheries and aquaculture

Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries data (Tanzania Mainland mandate), thousand tonnes, 2018–2025

Year	Capture fisheries (thousand t)	Aquaculture, fish (thousand t)	Seaweed, dry (thousand t)
2018	376.4	16.3	1.4
2019	470.3	17.2	1.4
2020	473.6	20.3	2.4
2021	477	25.3	4
2022	471.5	29.1	4.7
2023	480	34.8	8.7
2024	522.8	43.6	9.5
2025	519.5	58.9	17.5

Source: MLF fisheries statistics — Key statistics table of the fisheries and aquaculture sector. The table does not state its territory, and the Ministry's mandate covers Tanzania Mainland, so the seaweed series is not the Zanzibar figure. Zanzibar seaweed production (20,075 tonnes in 2025) is reported separately by OCGS¹⁷.

3.4

Trade

The map shows where Tanzania's agri-food products go and where they come from. In 2025 Tanzania reported US$3,155.7 million of agri-food exports and US$1,370.6 million of imports²⁷. India bought US$509.2 million, mainly cashew nuts and pulses, Belgium US$309.8 million, mainly tobacco, and China US$258.3 million, mainly sesame and other oilseeds²⁷. Members of the East African Community took 17.0% of exports and the EU-27 22.7% (own calculations)²⁷. Imports were led by cereals (US$450.2 million, mainly from the Russian Federation and Australia), vegetable oils from Malaysia and Indonesia, and sugar²⁷.

Exports rose from US$1,568.6 million in 2019 to US$3,228.5 million in 2024, before easing to US$3,155.7 million in 2025²⁸. Tobacco exports rose from US$127.5 million in 2021 to US$561.1 million in 2025, and coffee exports from US$171.5 million to US$373.3 million²⁵. Cereal exports reached US$231.0 million in 2025, almost all to neighbouring countries, of which US$143.6 million of maize, mainly to Kenya, Zambia and Malawi²⁵²⁷. Sugar imports ranged from US$79.3 million in 2019 to US$403.3 million in 2024 and were US$184.4 million in 2025²⁵.

Agri-food trade partners, 2025

Exports and imports of HS chapters 01–24 by partner country, US$ million (UN Comtrade, as reported by Tanzania)

Source: UN Comtrade — HS chapters 01–24 (live animals to tobacco). Raw cotton (HS chapter 52) is not included. Partner values are as reported by Tanzania, and 2025 is the latest full year reported to UN Comtrade. Small territories without a shape on the 1:110m world map appear only in the ranked list.

Where agri-food exports go

Share of agri-food exports (HS 01–24), 2025

22.7%

17%

60.3%

EU-27 · 22.7 %East African Community · 17 %Rest of the world · 60.3 %

Source: UN Comtrade — Own calculation from UN Comtrade partner data. India alone took 16.1%, and the rest of the world includes China (8.2%) and Viet Nam (6.0%).

Agri-food exports and imports

HS chapters 01–24, US$ million, 2015–2025 (UN Comtrade, as reported by Tanzania)

Year	Exports (US$ m)	Imports (US$ m)
2015	2,444.7	854.1
2016	1,794.8	863.3
2017	1,714.9	811.4
2018	–	620.2
2019	1,568.6	516.4
2020	1,707.9	695.9
2021	2,020	913.5
2022	1,997.2	1,153.1
2023	2,437.7	1,406.1
2024	3,228.5	1,495.6
2025	3,155.7	1,370.6

Source: UN Comtrade · World Bank WDI — Own sums of HS chapters 01–24. Food made up 31.0% of merchandise exports in 2025 on World Bank data²⁹. The 2018 export record in UN Comtrade is incomplete (US$850.5 million, with almost no vegetables or nuts) and is not shown. Raw cotton (HS chapter 52) is not included.

Main agricultural export products

Exports by HS heading, US$ million, 2015–2025 (UN Comtrade)

Year	Tobacco, unmanufactured (2401) (US$ m)	Nuts incl. cashew (0801) (US$ m)	Coffee (0901) (US$ m)	Dried pulses (0713) (US$ m)	Oilseeds incl. sesame (1207) (US$ m)
2015	216.5	251.5	158.2	265.9	131.7
2016	360.2	347.8	152	159	130.2
2017	195.8	541.2	127.2	92.8	74.2
2018	–	–	–	–	–
2019	146.5	360.9	153.5	120.5	168.9
2020	148.7	367.8	150.4	195.7	152.9
2021	127.5	163.9	171.5	269	150.3
2022	178.5	234.8	182.9	183.8	148.1
2023	340.5	220	232.5	274.6	233
2024	509.5	564.9	304	377	271.5
2025	561.1	429.8	373.3	301.5	262.7

Source: UN Comtrade — As reported by Tanzania. 2018 is omitted because the record is incomplete. Heading 0801 also includes coconuts and Brazil nuts, and in 2025 India (US$202.8 million) and Viet Nam (US$183.6 million) took most of it.

What Tanzania exports

Agri-food exports by HS chapter, 2025, US$ million (top 10)

HS chapter	Exports (US$ m)
24 Tobacco	599.8
08 Fruit & nuts	488.6
09 Coffee, tea & spices	424.1
07 Vegetables incl. pulses	317.5
12 Oilseeds	298.8
10 Cereals	231
03 Fish & seafood	161.2
22 Beverages & spirits	121.4
23 Feed & food-industry residues	112.2
18 Cocoa & products	100.8

Source: UN Comtrade — As reported by Tanzania to UN Comtrade. Chapter 07 includes dried pulses (US$301.5 million).

What Tanzania imports

Agri-food imports by HS chapter, 2025, US$ million (top 10)

HS chapter	Imports (US$ m)
10 Cereals	450.2
15 Fats & oils	225.3
17 Sugar & confectionery	220.8
23 Feed & food-industry residues	129.4
11 Milling products	78.2
22 Beverages & spirits	76.9
21 Miscellaneous food preparations	39.3
12 Oilseeds	23.3
08 Fruit & nuts	22.6
19 Cereal, flour & bakery products	22.5

Source: UN Comtrade — Cereal imports came mainly from the Russian Federation (US$177.6 million), Australia (US$98.1 million) and Zambia (US$46.4 million), and imports of fats and oils mainly from Malaysia (US$147.5 million).

Main agri-food trade partners, 2025

Rank	Export partner	US$ m	Share (%)	Import partner	US$ m	Share (%)
1	India	509.2	16.1	Russian Federation	178.5	13.0
2	Belgium	309.8	9.8	Malaysia	147.8	10.8
3	China	258.3	8.2	Kenya	115.1	8.4
4	Viet Nam	190.5	6.0	India	99.3	7.2
5	Kenya	188.5	6.0	Australia	98.8	7.2
6	Netherlands	132.8	4.2	Zambia	81.0	5.9
7	United Arab Emirates	125.0	4.0	Saudi Arabia	73.5	5.4
8	Rwanda	118.5	3.8	South Africa	72.7	5.3
9	DR Congo	112.7	3.6	Indonesia	45.4	3.3
10	Japan	109.8	3.5	United States	30.1	2.2

Source: UN Comtrade — HS chapters 01–24, as reported by Tanzania. Shares are own calculations.

3.5

Prices

Wholesale maize prices follow the harvest. The national average reached TZS 119,276 per 100 kg in March 2023, fell to TZS 61,685 in June 2024 and was TZS 75,386 in August 2026³⁰. Rice prices peaked at TZS 297,373 per 100 kg in March 2023³¹. Food inflation on the Mainland rose to 7.7% in August 2025 and eased to 3.9% in September 2026, when headline inflation was 4.3%³²³³. Annual average inflation was 3.3% in 2025³⁴.

Wholesale prices of maize, rice and beans

National average, TZS per 100 kg, monthly, January 2015 – August 2026

Month	Maize (TZS per 100 kg)	Rice (TZS per 100 kg)	Beans (TZS per 100 kg)
Jan 2015	38,077	144,823	152,346
Feb 2015	37,595	149,851	150,245
Mar 2015	39,480	162,176	149,870
Apr 2015	48,134	166,006	150,482
May 2015	47,163	161,947	156,789
Jun 2015	48,032	157,097	164,448
Jul 2015	52,445	153,509	155,721
Aug 2015	55,948	155,200	156,693
Sep 2015	57,866	160,535	156,998
Oct 2015	59,310	170,304	164,368
Nov 2015	64,232	175,951	170,175
Dec 2015	66,108	175,437	170,715
Jan 2016	67,437	178,371	171,416
Feb 2016	67,103	183,230	170,755
Mar 2016	64,559	180,041	158,012
Apr 2016	57,098	175,005	150,500
May 2016	55,025	159,233	148,939
Jun 2016	54,160	149,509	147,662
Jul 2016	57,846	148,822	148,830
Aug 2016	56,533	138,935	148,029
Sep 2016	57,418	138,003	150,420
Oct 2016	64,809	145,359	163,775
Nov 2016	72,606	148,721	171,858
Dec 2016	85,557	154,287	173,399
Jan 2017	93,209	160,194	173,372
Feb 2017	104,736	175,542	180,631
Mar 2017	105,575	171,198	177,934
Apr 2017	107,383	180,216	177,301
May 2017	95,175	178,014	179,111
Jun 2017	80,434	176,565	168,790
Jul 2017	68,955	173,243	166,678
Aug 2017	65,440	175,176	168,361
Sep 2017	57,225	179,726	173,500
Oct 2017	54,921	190,156	169,140
Nov 2017	49,933	184,083	180,280
Dec 2017	52,345	192,185	179,413
Jan 2018	49,880	194,294	177,044
Feb 2018	47,215	196,380	177,285
Mar 2018	49,269	186,107	168,256
Apr 2018	45,659	195,142	173,916
May 2018	42,505	172,772	178,748
Jun 2018	42,483	161,734	165,912
Jul 2018	41,234	154,252	161,443
Aug 2018	40,497	146,780	154,307
Sep 2018	39,885	–	155,482
Oct 2018	38,491	151,306	155,629
Nov 2018	41,368	153,373	157,140
Dec 2018	47,274	156,113	157,292
Jan 2019	49,456	159,004	160,507
Feb 2019	50,145	165,868	162,398
Mar 2019	50,129	166,923	161,331
Apr 2019	54,722	166,997	160,942
May 2019	59,181	167,630	163,525
Jun 2019	60,743	164,557	163,067
Jul 2019	62,465	161,887	160,704
Aug 2019	67,879	160,643	161,155
Sep 2019	72,624	169,594	167,866
Oct 2019	82,391	181,776	178,925
Nov 2019	86,497	185,272	197,654
Dec 2019	88,919	187,579	209,947
Jan 2020	94,256	188,537	215,655
Feb 2020	85,216	189,477	205,959
Mar 2020	66,888	184,303	180,377
Apr 2020	59,845	181,636	189,202
May 2020	56,337	165,010	204,856
Jun 2020	56,915	152,259	204,990
Jul 2020	58,362	148,992	192,772
Aug 2020	56,229	146,072	194,245
Sep 2020	54,552	143,207	199,060
Oct 2020	57,188	139,603	199,022
Nov 2020	58,013	144,332	208,249
Dec 2020	56,892	147,654	205,164
Jan 2021	56,867	144,285	198,532
Feb 2021	51,450	124,829	195,555
Mar 2021	47,963	142,013	180,880
Apr 2021	44,973	143,055	181,977
May 2021	43,546	136,448	177,438
Jun 2021	42,758	134,234	173,638
Jul 2021	43,371	136,570	170,511
Aug 2021	44,812	140,137	173,213
Sep 2021	44,366	141,520	168,501
Oct 2021	46,775	151,868	168,554
Nov 2021	48,002	154,395	175,268
Dec 2021	55,586	164,880	179,308
Jan 2022	67,603	182,520	186,368
Feb 2022	62,063	186,341	184,407
Mar 2022	60,531	184,561	186,498
Apr 2022	63,315	189,088	187,446
May 2022	70,871	199,199	188,264
Jun 2022	79,183	202,109	189,166
Jul 2022	87,453	204,662	192,159
Aug 2022	89,040	209,788	206,861
Sep 2022	95,866	233,829	232,329
Oct 2022	102,850	261,394	268,049
Nov 2022	104,691	265,597	270,319
Dec 2022	112,598	280,416	292,247
Jan 2023	115,793	287,960	298,513
Feb 2023	114,762	293,368	298,650
Mar 2023	119,276	297,373	289,844
Apr 2023	108,670	297,315	280,884
May 2023	104,766	291,979	280,385
Jun 2023	101,916	265,620	272,522
Jul 2023	101,417	255,979	269,258
Aug 2023	97,809	250,140	262,040
Oct 2023	89,044	264,237	264,081
Nov 2023	87,920	270,998	271,036
Jan 2024	83,141	258,714	268,494
Feb 2024	83,089	258,128	266,417
Mar 2024	70,320	248,804	251,835
Apr 2024	65,161	242,611	248,430
May 2024	61,921	225,379	266,016
Jun 2024	61,685	213,605	260,250
Jul 2024	63,861	205,200	262,155
Aug 2024	65,721	198,097	262,311
Sep 2024	66,703	193,610	262,614
Oct 2024	69,861	202,000	268,489
Nov 2024	71,743	205,996	275,329
Dec 2024	73,119	207,207	276,045
Jan 2025	79,300	213,977	281,240
Feb 2025	79,405	219,629	277,326
Mar 2025	84,041	232,549	272,866
Apr 2025	83,448	246,949	277,888
May 2025	84,183	240,211	277,441
Jun 2025	82,897	240,277	271,364
Jul 2025	82,488	241,500	257,141
Aug 2025	79,739	242,518	253,355
Sep 2025	79,533	245,304	251,891
Oct 2025	78,273	245,517	252,435
Nov 2025	79,586	250,415	252,826
Dec 2025	80,669	251,283	250,783
Jan 2026	84,109	259,486	255,138
Feb 2026	86,123	262,393	250,851
Mar 2026	86,657	263,668	248,087
Apr 2026	85,258	261,877	247,174
May 2026	84,055	257,352	249,795
Jun 2026	77,948	244,904	242,028
Jul 2026	76,247	239,895	238,698
Aug 2026	75,386	234,650	238,892

Source: FAO FPMA — FAO GIEWS FPMA Tool, nominal prices, which FAO takes from WFP VAM. September and December 2023 are missing. The maize price peaked at TZS 119,276 per 100 kg in March 2023 and was TZS 75,386 in August 2026.

Inflation month by month

Tanzania Mainland, % change on the same month a year earlier, January 2024 – September 2026

Month	All items (%)	Food and non-alcoholic beverages (%)	Core (%)
Jan 2024	3	1.5	3.2
Feb 2024	3	1.8	3.7
Mar 2024	3	1.4	3.9
Apr 2024	3.1	1.4	3.9
May 2024	3.1	1.6	3.6
Jun 2024	3.1	0.9	3.6
Jul 2024	3	1	3.3
Aug 2024	3.1	2.8	3.2
Sep 2024	3.1	2.5	3.2
Oct 2024	3	2.5	3.2
Nov 2024	3	3.3	3.3
Dec 2024	3.1	4.6	2.9
Jan 2025	3.1	5.3	2.7
Feb 2025	3.2	5	2.5
Mar 2025	3.3	5.4	2.2
Apr 2025	3.2	5.3	2.2
May 2025	3.2	5.6	2.1
Jun 2025	3.3	7.3	1.9
Jul 2025	3.3	7.6	1.9
Aug 2025	3.4	7.7	2
Sep 2025	3.4	7	2.2
Oct 2025	3.5	7.4	2.1
Nov 2025	3.4	6.6	2.3
Dec 2025	3.6	6.7	2.5
Jan 2026	3.3	5.7	2.2
Feb 2026	3.2	5.7	2.1
Mar 2026	3.2	5.5	2.2
Apr 2026	4	5.7	3.1
May 2026	4.2	5.6	3.4
Jun 2026	4	4.1	3.7
Jul 2026	4.2	4.1	3.9
Aug 2026	4.3	3.7	4.1
Sep 2026	4.3	3.9	4.1

Source: NBS — NBS CPI summary workbook, September 2026 release. Food inflation peaked at 7.7% in August 2025 and was 3.9% in September 2026.

Inflation, annual average

Tanzania Mainland, National Consumer Price Index, % change, 2011–2025

Year	All items (%)	Food (%)
2011	12.7	15
2012	16	20.6
2013	7.9	8.5
2014	6.1	7.4
2015	5.6	8.7
2016	5.2	7.2
2017	5.3	9.1
2018	3.5	3
2019	3.4	2.9
2020	3.3	4.1
2021	3.7	4.3
2022	4.3	7.3
2023	3.8	6.8
2024	3.1	2.1
2025	3.3	6.4

Source: NBS · World Bank WDI — Statistical Abstract 2025, Table 15.3, rebased series with 2020 = 100.

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ⓘ

AI-assisted content, human-reviewed: This page was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by a human editor. (last review: October 2026) Despite review, errors or outdated values may remain; please verify critical figures against the linked primary sources before relying on them. Nothing here is investment, legal or financial advice.

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