Coffee exports earned Tanzania US$135 million in foreign exchange during the 2015/2026 farming season as the country produced 59,000 metric tons, which is above average annual production of 50,000 tons.
Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) Acting Director General, Mr Primus Kimaryo, noted, however, that the board is currently working to boost local consumption of coffee to avoid over dependency on foreign markets.
“Local consumption of coffee is currently at between five and seven per cent, but we aim to encourage more Tanzanians to drink coffee to reach 15 per cent in ten years to come,” he said during the ongoing 40th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair at the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Trade Fair Grounds.
He explained that the majority of Tanzanians consume tea, which is less costly as compared to coffee and this has led to little consumption of the latter locally. “It will take time for us to change people’s attitude to start using coffee when they are already used to drinking tea,” he said.
Average production of coffee in Tanzania stands at 50,000 metric tons (about 983,000 60-kg bags) but the rate is likely to drop to 48,00O tons in the coming farming season, Kimaryo said.
