Coffee
Coffee is one of Tanzania's traditional cash crops and a driver of the country's export growth, with traditional exports—largely tobacco and coffee—rising to USD 1,512.2 million in 2025 from USD 1,473.3 million in 2024 on the back of higher prices and increased volumes.[7]
Coffee sits alongside cashew nuts, tea, tobacco, cotton, and avocados in Tanzania's portfolio of key cash crops with strong export demand.[1]
The crop is recognized as a priority commodity under Tanzania's agricultural development agenda, with investment opportunities spanning commercial farming, agro-processing, roasting, packaging, and export logistics.[3][4][6]
Coffee in Tanzania's Cash Crop Economy
Coffee is listed among Tanzania's traditional cash crops, together with cashew nuts, cotton, tea, and tobacco, and remains a structural pillar of the country's agricultural export earnings.[2]
Agriculture accounted for 23.6% of total goods exports in 2025, and coffee is one of the established export commodities supplying this contribution.[2]
Tanzania continues to supply traditional coffee markets including the European Union—specifically Belgium, Poland, and Germany—the UAE, and Far East destinations such as South Korea, Indonesia, and China.[2]
Around 44% of Tanzania's exports—a basket that includes coffee alongside minerals, tourism, cashew nuts, cotton, sisal, tobacco, tea, and cloves—are destined for Switzerland, India, South Africa, China, and Kenya.[8]
Coffee in Tanzania's 2025 Export Performance
In 2025, exports of goods and services rose by 10.2% to USD 17,599.2 million from USD 15,968.4 million in 2024, with exports of goods specifically increasing to USD 10,282.4 million from USD 9,121.6 million.[7]
This growth was driven mainly by exports of gold, manufactured goods, tobacco, and coffee.[7]
Traditional exports rose to USD 1,512.2 million in 2025, an increase from USD 1,473.3 million in 2024, largely due to higher exports of tobacco and coffee, influenced by both rising prices and increased volumes.[7]
Gold exports, the leading category, accounted for 45.7% of total goods exports and rose by 37.4% to USD 4,697.6 million, while manufactured goods climbed to USD 1,548.6 million from USD 1,341.3 million in 2024.[7]
Within this composition, the traditional export basket—where coffee is a key contributor—reached USD 1,512.2 million.[7]
Coffee as a Prioritized Commodity
Coffee is explicitly listed among the prioritized commodities under Tanzania's Agriculture Master Plan 2050, alongside fruits, spices, vegetables, cotton, cashew, sisal, maize, paddy, sorghum, wheat, sunflower, sesame, soybeans, kidney beans and other pulses, poultry, red meat, dairy, fodder, and aquaculture.[3]
The Master Plan targets a USD 100 billion agricultural GDP, USD 20 billion in net exports, and 10% annual sector growth by 2050.[3]
A specific strategic objective is to increase processing of priority commodities tenfold through the development of warehouses and market linkages, and to lift regional and international exports to USD 6 billion.[3]
The Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania initiative—introduced in 2025 to accelerate the Master Plan—covers the Central, Southern, Mtwara, and Northern Zones and is designed to strengthen agricultural production, improve access to domestic and international markets, enhance capital access, promote crop value addition, and facilitate the availability of agricultural inputs.[3]
Investment Opportunities Along the Coffee Value Chain
Investment opportunities in coffee span the full value chain, from commercial farming of strategic crops across the agricultural corridors to productive infrastructure such as irrigation systems and water harvesting facilities.[4]
Upstream opportunities also include the supply and local manufacturing of inputs and farm machinery to support coffee growers and other priority crops.[4]
Mid-stream opportunities cover post-harvest facilities such as pack houses, cold storage, and warehouses, along with agro-processing facilities for cereals, oilseeds, cashews, sugar, coffee, dairy, and fish.[4]
Downstream opportunities include export facilitation through auctions, logistics, and crop hubs that connect Tanzanian coffee to buyers in established and new markets.[4]
Coffee Roasting, Packaging and Consumer Goods
Within the fast-moving consumer goods and light manufacturing sector, Tanzania roasts and packages coffee for domestic retail and export, complementing large-scale sugar, edible oils, and beverage production.[6]
The processed foods segment also includes frozen foods, fortified foods, and various milled agricultural products, providing scope for integrated investment combining coffee roasting with broader food processing.[6]
The food and beverages sector offers broad potential including grain milling, starches, dairy products, fruit and vegetable preservation, and other food products such as bread, sugar, chocolate, pasta, coffee, nuts, and spices, targeting both domestic and export markets.[9]
In the non-alcoholic beverage segment, coffee features alongside carbonated soft drinks, syrup concentrates, juices, energy and sports drinks, teas, and bottled water as part of one of the fastest-growing manufacturing segments in Tanzania, driven by rapid urbanization, rising disposable incomes, and an expanding supermarket culture.[5]
Export Markets for Tanzanian Coffee
Tanzania's coffee continues to reach traditional destinations including Belgium, Poland, and Germany in the European Union, the UAE, and Far East markets such as South Korea, Indonesia, and China.[2]
Coffee is part of the export basket through which approximately 44% of Tanzania's exports flow to the country's top five destinations—Switzerland, India, South Africa, China, and Kenya.[8]
In 2024, Tanzania's wider export sector recorded USD 3,946.76 million under the AfCFTA, USD 2,968 million within the SADC, and USD 1,163.8 million for the EAC, while Asian markets including China, India, Japan, Singapore, and the UAE accounted for USD 2,840.3 million, and the European Union absorbed USD 686.3 million.[8]
These multi-bloc market openings provide coffee exporters with diversified routes to international demand.[8]
Last Update: May 2026
References
- https://www.bot.go.tz/Publications/Regular/Annual%20Report/en/2026022607584561.pdf (Guide reference #1)
- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=TZ (Guide reference #2)
- https://www.bot.go.tz/Publications/Regular/Monetary%20policy%20report/en/2026011919182725.pdf (Guide reference #3)
- https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDP_RPCH@WEO/TZA/CHN (Guide reference #4)
- https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/wir2025_en.pdf (Guide reference #5)
- https://www.tiseza.go.tz/uploads/documents/en-1745479851-TIC%202024%20Investment%20FactSheet.pdf (Guide reference #6)
- https://investmentpolicy.unctad.org/international-investment-agreements/countries/222/tanzania-united-republic-of (Guide reference #7)
- https://www.nbs.go.tz/uploads/statistics/documents/sw-1738321655-01.%20URT_Demographic%20and%20Socioeconomic%20Profile.pdf (Guide reference #8)
- https://www.parliament.go.tz/uploads/documents/en-1769678706-ORODHA%20YA%20WABUNGE%20TOLEO%20LA%20KWANZA%20-%2028%20JANUARI,%202026.pdf (Guide reference #9)
Want to know more about Coffee in Tanzania? Our free Tanzania Business and Investment Guide 2026 covers Coffee, plus regulations, key sectors, and investment opportunities—all in one place.
Download Free Guide
