Africa-Press – Tanzania. The volume of coffee and tea procured during the quarter ending September this year was higher than the volume procured in the corresponding quarter last year.
Coffee procured increased as a result of bumper harvest mainly due to high coffee cycle production season of 2020/21.
The other factors that contributed to increase coffee procurement are favorable weather conditions and improvement of farm gate coffee marketing system which encouraged competition between cooperatives and private companies.
According to the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Economic Bulletin for the quarter ending September this year, coffee procured increased to 57,206.0 tonnes compared to 37,151.4 tonnes procured in the corresponding quarter last year which is equivalent to 54 per cent change.
Procurement of tea increased mainly due to good weather conditions and resumption of production of tea processing factories that scaled down after the outbreak of Covid-19.
During the reference period, a total of 3,646 tonnes were procured compared to 3,236.8 tonnes procured in the corresponding period last year which is equivalent to 12 per cent change. Meanwhile, procurement of sisal, tobacco, and cotton lint decreased in the same review period.
The decrease in procurement of sisal was caused by weak global demand, following slow recovery of markets after Covid-19 outbreak. According to the central bank report, sisal procurement declined by negative 23.6 per cent to 7,452.9 tonnes from 9,757.2 7 in the corresponding quarter last year.
The cotton lint procurement decreased by negative 57.4 per cent to 118,810 tonnes from 278,588 tonnes registered in the same quarter last year.
The procurement of cotton lint and tobacco decreases due to heavy rainfall which caused floods that affected most cotton growing areas and decrease in quality and price of tobacco.
The procurement of tobacco decreased by negative 27.6 per cent to 18,330.5 tonnes compared to 25,318.9 tonnes on the corresponding quarter last year. Notably, as a result of decreasing prices, procurement of tobacco closed in mid-August.
