Coffee harvests in Tanzania are projected to increase to more than 60,000 tonnes in the 2015 season, up from 40,000 tonnes in the same period last year, said the Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB)
According to TCB, the 2015 harvest will be better than last year because of the improved agricultural practices within the country and good rains.
Adolf Kumburu, director general of TCB, said, “Coffee production in Tanzania is a significant aspect of its economy as it is the country’s largest exported crop. Tanzania is Africa’s fourth biggest coffee producer after Ethiopia, Uganda and Côte d'Ivoire.
“The country’s coffee production averages between 30,000-40,000 metric tonnes each year of which approximately 70 per cent is arabica coffee and 30 per cent is robusta coffee.”
Coffee is grown by about 450,000 families, which constitutes 90 per cent of the total coffee producers in Tanzania, added Kumburu.
Coffee accounts for about 20 per cent of Tanzania’s foreign exchange earnings and has been the mainstay of the country’s agriculture-based economy since its introduction as a cash crop around 100 years ago, revealed TCB.
