Oil seed production in Tanzania mainly focuses on ground nuts (40%), sunflower (36%), sesame (15%), cotton (8%) and palm oil (1%). More than half of vegetable oil consumed in Tabora and Tanzania as a whole is imported due to insufficient domestic production. The population of western Tanzania is approximtely 5.8 million in 2012.
What is the demand for vegetable oil in Tanzania?
Demand for vegetable oil is at least growing with the rate of population growth. The production of oilseeds in Tanzania mainly focuses on ground nuts (40%), sunflower (36%), sesame (15%), cotton (8%), and palm oil (1%).
Does Tanzania have a potential in the sunflower oil sector?
Tanzania has great potential in the sunflower oil seeds sector, which can be scaled-up as one of its key sectors for industrial development.
How much palm oil does Tanzania eat per capita?
However, Tanzania’s edible oil consumption actually seems to be significantly higher than five kg per capita. The country imported 170,000 tonnes of palm oil in 2009 and that oil imports are said to be about half the total requirement, which would thus be about 340,000 tons, or 340 million kg for a population of around 40 million.