Maping Performance of Tea Sector in the Last Thirty Years and Future Prospects in Tanzania

Tea is an important crop in Tanzanian domestic and cross-border trade. Tea is ranked as the fifth most produced and exported cash crop in Tanzania. Despite the contributions of the tea sector to the country, it is highly featured by several challenges which hinder its rapid growth. Therefore, this study was designed to map the performance of the tea sector over the last thirty years and predict the future. The study used secondary data which were outsourced from Food and Agriculture Organization Statistics, Tea Board of Tanzania (TBT) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). To supplement collected secondary data, the study conducted a critical literature review on the area under tea production, farmer’s tea productivity, prices of green leaf and made tea, key actors of tea sector, challenges and opportunities. The results showed that over the last thirty years, the area under tea production slightly increased. Green leaf tea production increased at a decreasing rate while the price of green leaf tea has increased but considering the time value of money the prices are likely the same. Similarly, the price of made tea has fluctuated over time which affects returns on investment in tea production. Also, it was found that the tea sector faces several challenges such as poor infrastructure, inadequate working capital for farmers, high production costs, delays in payments, the limited number of tea processing companies and unreliable market prices. Also, it was found that there are numerous opportunities in tea sectors such as tea cultivation and processing, supply of modern tea plucking tools, and establishment of primary tea processing at the farm level. The study concluded that over the past thirty years, there has been a decline in the tea sector in the future, therefore there is an urgent need to reform policies and strategies that may create a conducive enabling environment for public and private investments in the tea sector.