Current Status Of Edible Oil Production in Tanzania

Tanzania is currently facing a huge deficit in edible oil production and relies heavily on imports to meet the growing demand for edible oil, which reached $294 million last year.

According to the Tanzania Investment Center (TIC), the annual demand for edible oil is 500,000 tons, while the country's supply is only 180,000 tons, forcing it to import 320,000 tons of edible oil per year. Tanzania expects its annual demand to increase to 700,000 tons in the next 11 years. The government is seeking investors in the edible oil industry to help close the supply gap and ease the huge import burden.

Tanzania is the second largest producer of sunflower seeds in Africa. Common edible oils in Tanzania include peanut oil, palm oil, sunflower seed oil, soybean oil and sesame oil.

Last year there were reports that the Tanzanian government was in talks with potential investors and encouraging them to establish edible oil processing plants in the country.

In addition, the country's deputy minister Anthony Mavunde revealed that the government is working with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN Industrial Development Organization and will develop a development strategy aimed at promoting oilseed production to close the deficit gap caused by the country's edible oils.