Tanzania announces plans to boost avocado production

Tanzanian authorities announced on Thursday plans to boost production of avocado in the 2022/2023 financial year that begins on July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.

During the 2022/2023 financial year, the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institution (TARI) will be tasked to produce 20 million improved avocado seedlings, the Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Anthony Mavunde, told the parliament.

Mavunde told the House in the capital Dodoma that the seedlings will be sold to avocado growers at subsidized prices to encourage them to grow the cash crop.

He said the government, through state-run Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI), has already started registering private avocado seedlings producers.

Mavunde said avocado is now sought locally and internationally, adding that there are also potential markets for the crop in China.

The Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) estimates that the country's avocado exports reached 11,237 tons worth 33 million U.S. dollars in 2021.