Member of the Month

April 2009: TANZANIA COFFEE BOARD

Background of the coffee industry:

Tanzania is situated 3 degrees south of the equator on the African continent and borders Kenya and Uganda to the north; Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the west; Zambia to the south west; Malawi and Mozambique to the south and the Indian Ocean to the east.

Tanzania is well endowed with rich natural habitat and eco systems. These include: the famous Mt. Kilimanjaro; the Serengeti plains; the Rift Valley and lakes Victoria, Tanganyika and Nyasa (Malawi). The country receives reliable rainfall, making most parts of the country green and therefore suitable for agriculture. Big rivers like Rufiji, Panganyi and Ruvuma flow throughout the year and their basins are a source of ample arable land for cultivation. The rich, volcanic soil of Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa's highest mountain) and Mt. Meru in the north of the country and the fertile southern highland regions provide ideal growing conditions for wet processed mild Arabica, which Tanzania produces throughout the year.

History of the TCB:

The Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) was established in 1993 by an Act of Parliament and began operations in that very year. It is the regulatory body for the country’s coffee industry and oversees all the activities that are related to coffee in Tanzania.

Specific functions of the organization include:

1. Regulatory
2. Supervisory
3. Advisory
4. Co-ordination
5. Representation
6. Monitoring and evaluation

Other functions include licensing all the coffee businesses operating in the country and conducting and facilitating coffee auctions.

The coffee:

Mild Arabica coffee is said to have been introduced into the country from the Reunion Island by the Jesuits in the 1890s. The first variety grown was "Bourbon" while the more disease resistant "Kent" was first planted in the 1920s.

This coffee, with its fine acidity and full flavour is sought after both as a "pure" coffee of the highest quality and often sold under the names of Kilimanjaro or Kibo or as a component of the best blends in Japan, Europe and America.

Over 90% of Tanzanian coffee is grown on farms of smallholders that form the backbone of the industry. The remainder comes from co-operatives and privately owned estates.

Around the shores of Lake Victoria (the largest lake in the southern hemisphere) Robusta and dry processed (hard) Arabica coffees flourish.

Maintaining and improving quality is vital for the international success of Tanzania coffee. Research is carried out at Lyamungu on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Together with the major co-operative unions and the private growers association, Lyamungu gives technical advice to farmers as well as providing seedlings for regular replanting of coffee trees.

The coffee is milled before being offered for sale to authorized exporters in the regular auctions held in Moshi, home of the TCB, Tanzanian Coffee Traders Association and the Tanzania Coffee Association (TCA).

The coffee is then carefully prepared for export according to the buyer's requirements and shipped from Tanga or Dar-es-Salaam ports to countries all over the world.

Coffee marketing systems:

a) Internal marketing system

The system involves buying of coffee from farmers at designated buying posts. Following the liberalization of coffee trade in Tanzania in the 1994 - 1995 coffee season, farmers became free to sell their coffee in cherry or parchment to any licensed coffee buyer. Every coffee buyer has to get a license from TCB and fulfill the basic conditions for this type of business. For the purpose of monitoring coffee movements from farmers, the buyer must send all parchment and/or cherry to a licensed coffee processing factory and inform TCB accordingly. Prices are purely based on negotiations between farmers and coffee buyers. As of 31st December 1998 private coffee buyers were:

1. Dorman (Tanzania) Limited
2. Taylor Winch (Tanzania) Limited
3. Sheriff Dewji & Sons Limited
4. Olam (Tanzania) Limited
5. Uneximp (Tanzania) Limited
6. Mazao Limited
7. Soochak Bush & Company Limited
8. Tropex (Tanzania) Limited

b) External marketing system
All clean coffee in Tanzania is sold through auctions conducted centrally by the TCB. Licensed coffee exporters participate in auctions held at the TCB head office in Moshi twice every month. The auctions operate by a fall of hammer and coffee is sold EX licensed clean coffee warehouses. The seller in this case is a coffee buyer whereas the bidder is a licensed coffee exporter.

Our contacts:

Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB)
Kahawa House, Moshi
P. O. Box 732,
Moshi, Tanzania.
Tel: +255 (0)272 754 190
Fax: +255 (0)272 753 033
E-mail: info@coffeeboardtz.org

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