ONIONS ARE 'NEW GOLD' FOR TANZANIA EXPORT INDUSTRY

 

BY GRACE MACHA IN ARUSHA

Onions,a common vegetable widely cultivated across the country, is set to become a new gold for Tanzania's export market.

Having fetched Sh.42.5 billion to the economy last year through exports,the crop is already competing with the traditional export crops.

Tanzanian onions, primarily exported to  Kenya and Uganda, withered the Covid-19 storm last year to stay afloat with no significant drop in foreign sales.

Last year, according to the Arusha-based Taha Group report, Tanzania exported a total of 42,404 tonnes, generating Sh.   42.5billion.

The leading importers Kenya and Uganda ordered 21,100 tonnes and 20,900 tonnes respectively, or 49.7 percent for the former and 49.2 percent for the latter.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) imported 348 tonnes or 0.8 percent, India 116 tonnes (0.2 percent) and Burundi (40 tonnes) or 0.09 percent.

In 2019,Tanzania exported 39,806.6 tonnes, approximately worth Sh.40 billion, mostly to Kenya which purchased 39.3 tonnes or 98.8 percent.

Besides the export market,the onions - cooked as a vegetable or part of a prepared savoury dish -are among the most consumed vegetables in Tanzania. 

Dar es Salaam is the biggest market for the locally consumed onions while Iringa, Arusha,Singida and Kilimanjaro are the leading production areas.

Industry analysts, however, feel the export market can expand to other countries instead of relying heavily on the Kenyan market for exports.

Although the total exports rose from 39,806.6 tonnes in 2019 to 42,404 tonnes last year,imports by Kenya dropped to 21,000 tonnes in 2020 compared to  39,356.5 tonnes in 2019.

This was attributed to closure of borders which restricted traders from Kenya to freely move to Tanzania to purchase the onions. 

Stakeholders in horticulture say opportunities that the Ugandan and Indian buyers offered should be harnessed "rather than relying heavily on Kenya".

"We should diversify to other markets such as Uganda, DRC and India. Tanzania is surrounded by eight countries", they said during an assessment of the onion market. 

They particularly insisted on increased investments in establishment of modern onion storage facilities for the smallholder farmers.

"Proper onion storage technologies will retain the quality of their produce", they said during a meeting convened to assess the market trends.

The virtual meeting, hosted by Taha Group,assessed the export market for onions from Tanzania in 2020 and 2019 and the impact of Covid-19. 

It was suggested that private sector investors should be encouraged to target the onion clusters to set up such storage technologies.

Taha Group was advised to inform farmers about onion market trends and the best production windows to minimize the bumper harvest impacts on prices. 

Onions are among the most consumed vegetables in Tanzanian households and lately one of the leading export crops.

The most cultivated onion varieties in the country are red onion bulb varieties which tend to have a long-shelf life, especially the red creole variety.