HOPE AS TANZANIA STARTS EXPORTING AVOCADO TO INDIA

Agriculture Deputy Minister, Antony Mavunde (second left) listens to ATCL Managing Director, Ladislaus Matindi (right) during the launch of the maiden shipment of Tanzanian avocados to India at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam over the weekend. From left is Indian High Commissioner to Tanzania, Mr Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, Kamal Group Managing Director Sameer Santosh Gupta, who coordinated the avocado market in India while far right is Tanzania Horticulture Association Chief Executive Officer, Jacqueline Mkindi.

Dar es Salaam - Tanzania sent its maiden batch of the country’s first avocado consignment to India over the weekend in what promises a bright future for horticultural farmers.

Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Mr Anthony Mavunde saw the Air Tanzania flight carrying two tonnes of Hass Avocado leaving Terminal Three at Julius Nyerere International Airport for Mumbai over the weekend.

Speaking during the event, Mr Mavunde said Tanzania produces an average of 40,000 tonnes per year of avocado but noted that only 9,500 tonnes were being exported.

“Our country has massive opportunities in avocado production. We will continue sensitising farmers so they can produce productively,” he said.

The Director at Kamal Steel Limited, Mr Sameer Santosh Gupta who is also the champion for the market, detailed how the Dar es Salaam-based company worked with relevant authorities in Tanzania and India to ensure that the latter allows the former’s avocado in its supermarkets.

“I used to wonder that whenever I went to India, I could buy avocados from Peru, Mexico and New Zealand while I understand we have a lot of tasty avocadoes here in Tanzania. That was how the journey started,” he said.

Despite being largely engaged in steel production, he said, the company understands that agriculture accounts for a good share of Tanzania’s economy. That was how he started communicating with the ministries of Agriculture in Tanzania and in India way back in 2018 in an effort to find the market for the former’s avocadoes, passion and soursop fruits.

“We thus realized that if we are to make an impact in the lives of Tanzanians, then we have no option but to ensure that they have ready markets for their produce,” he said, detailing his delight when the efforts finally yielded positive results.

“I am glad that officials from our two governments worked collectively to make the move a reality….This is good for our farmers, good for our transport logistics systems and good for the economy,” he said.

Also present at the event was the Indian High Commissioner to Tanzania, Mr Binaya Srikanta Pradhan who said the deal was made possible due to the cordial relationship that exists between Tanzania and India.

He said Tanzania's avocado in India will be sold at competitive prices because they will be entering the market on duty-free arrangement.

According to Mr Mavunde, in the next budget, the government will set up a Common user facility in Njombe Iringa which will be used in the sorting of avocado quality grades and store them in packaging materials that show the origin of the fruits.

“In doing so, we will be helping our avocado to penetrate new markets, contrary to the current situation whereby most of our crops are smuggled outside the country and sold as they were from those other countries,” he said.

The Tanzania Horticulture Association (Taha) chief executive officer, Dr Jacqueline Mkindi said India was one of the three key markets to unlock Tanzania's avocado.

She thanked Kamal Group for initiating the discussions that finally saw Tanzania's avocado being allowed to enter the Indian Market on a duty-free arrangement.

"We thank Kamal for this step. As a country, we have been working hard to secure three markets: South Africa, India and China. We are now done with South Africa and India and we are now looking up to unlocking the Chinese market as well," she said.