Tanzania’s Coffee Growers in Kagera Region a Kilogramme of Robusta bought for over 5,000/- in an Auction

By Abdul Rahman Bangura-

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS (NADN) Freetown, Sierra Leone– Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) Kagera Regional Manager – Edmond Zani remarked that, the Tanzania’s objective was to assure good market for coffee, a drive that schedules at controlling crop smuggling.

“The coffee business is now through auctioning. The selling of coffee directly from the farms has been banned. Coffee regulations in Tanzania are undergoing major changes which are intended to improve profits for farmers and extend their role in the supply chain,” he noted.

Zani remarked, Robusta coffee fetched higher prices comparable to Arabica coffee during to the increasing demands on the globalization market. During the recent auction held on June 18th of 2024 Ruhoko AMCOS in Bukoba DC sold a total of 71,369 kgs of Robusta coffee where a kilogramme went for 5,233/-.

Kafunjo AMCOS in Karagwe sold a total of 93,378/- where a kilogramme fetched 5,230/- while Kamahungu AMCOS in Karagwe DC sold a total of 4,621 kilogrammes with a kilogramme going for 5,310/-.

Ngara Farmers AMCOS, on the other hand, sold a total of 9,083 kilogrammes of Arabica Certified where a kilogramme went for 4,570/-.

Thus, Deputy Minister for Agriculture – David Silinde stated, the Administration of Tanzania is doing everything in its power to lookout for investors who will be able to set up a processing factory for value addition.

Silinde noted, the factories will help farmers to get better prices for their produces. He noted, the government has already instruct coffee farmers and cooperatives to sell the coffee through official auctioneers, expressing its commitment to stop smuggling.

“Tanzania Coffee Board is the official auctioneer and growers are required to sell their produce only through farmers’ co-operatives. The selling of coffee directly from farms has been banned,” he noted.

However, he stated, coffee growers and co-operatives in the nation have commenced selling their produce only through the annual coffee auctions and in return benefit from the growing global coffee markets and stop the rampant coffee smuggling to neighbouring countries by individual farmers.

He expanded: “The government has banned the purchase of cherry or parchment at the farm-gate level. Farmers must now sell cherry or parchment to an Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Society (AMCOS), which will deliver the coffees to auction for purchase. Coffees then will be traceable to the AMCOS,”

New Africa Daily News Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports, Africa Correspondent