Critical IOA Unit Tanzania imports 320,000 tons of edible oil per year. Tanzania’s annual demand for edible oil stands at 500,000 tons, whereas the country can supply only 180,000 tons, forcing it to import 320,000 tons each year, signaling major opportunities for import substitution (7).
How can Tanzania expand the edible oil industry?
Low smallholder participation in oil Source: Icons from Noun Project 4 In order to expand the edible oils industry, Tanzania should focus first on the sunflower value chain, as it is best positioned to serve strong demand given current production dynamics Source: IHS Markit; FAOSTAT; Dalberg analysis from calculations
Does Tanzania have a shortage of edible oil?
While the local and regional market for edible oils is large and growing, local supply in Tanzania is not keeping up. Given a shortfall of 360K metric tons, Tanzania imports over 60% of the country’s cooking oil. This costs USD 250M in palm oil imports every year, making it the sector with the second highest foreign exchange transactions by value.
Does Tanzania import cooking oil?
Given a shortfall of 360K metric tons, Tanzania imports over 60% of the country’s cooking oil. This costs USD 250M in palm oil imports every year, making it the sector with the second highest foreign exchange transactions by value. However, the country has a large and growing refined sunflower oil industry that can substitute these imports.