Tanzania and Qatar to Deepen Livestock and Fisheries Investment Cooperation

The government of Tanzania has said it is ready to partner with investors from Qatar to develop opportunities in the livestock and fisheries sectors, including expanding meat production and processing, opening markets across the Middle East, developing the poultry industry, and investing in fisheries infrastructure.

The Minister for Livestock and Fisheries, Amb. Dr. Bashiru Ally Kakurwa, made the statement during talks with the former Deputy Prime Minister of Qatar, Dr. Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah, who is also Chairman of Thirty-Five Investment Holding, during his working visit to Tanzania.

The meeting was held on 31 August 2026 at the offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation in Dar es Salaam.

It was attended by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Agnes Kisaka Meena, the Deputy Permanent Secretary for Fisheries, Prof. Mohammed Ali Sheikh, and other senior Ministry officials.

On the beef trade, Kakurwa asked the company to use its commercial experience to help Tanzania open and expand a market for meat in Qatar and the wider Middle East.

He said Tanzania has sufficient raw materials but needs to strengthen standards, food safety and other procedures to increase access for its meat products in international markets, adding that the government is ready to work with Qatar to address those challenges and build the capacity of sector stakeholders to meet the required standards.

Kakurwa quantified the sector’s recent trajectory and the markets it already serves.

“Tanzania has increased meat exports from about 1,000 metric tonnes in 2021 to nearly 15,000 currently, while aiming to reach at least 50,000 per year,” he said.

“Tanzania already sells meat in the markets of Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Comoros, but there is still a large opportunity to increase those sales through investment in production, processing, value addition and meat transport infrastructure,” he added.

Kakurwa named poultry as another area of major investment opportunity, explaining that the government has launched a 10-year poultry strategy aimed at strengthening and further formalising the sector.

He noted that the sector has a broad value chain involving small producers and various stakeholders, creating opportunities in the production of poultry feed, vaccines and inputs, in raising productivity, in distribution and in improving the quality of raw materials.

In fisheries, Kakurwa said the government proposes starting a negotiation process between Thirty-Five Investment Holding and the Tanzania Fisheries Corporation (TAFICO), mirroring the ongoing cooperation with the National Ranching Company (NARCO), to lay the foundation for investment in the sector.

He stated that fisheries is a distinct area from NARCO’s activities, making a dedicated memorandum of understanding between TAFICO and Thirty-Five Investment Holding necessary.

Kakurwa pointed to completed and planned port infrastructure available to potential investors.

“Tanzania has completed the Kilwa Masoko Fishing Port, with cold-chain infrastructure, a processing area, a fuel station, ice-making, freezing and cold storage,” he said.

“The government has also conducted a feasibility study for building another fishing port at Bagamoyo where the opportunities could involve deep-sea fishing, particularly tuna, along with the processing and value addition of fisheries products,” he added.

Al Attiyah expressed interest in continuing discussions on the opportunities, seeking to understand more about the fisheries infrastructure and how investors could participate across the entire value chain.

He cited the example of Kesennuma in Japan, where the fishing sector was largely restored after being hit by the 2011 tsunami, stressing the importance of learning from the experience of other countries in developing the sector.