The wholesale prices of maize experienced a slight increase in August, attributed to rising demand for the commodity in neighboring countries.

Data from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade indicate that the wholesale price of maize rose to 66,318/- per 100 kilograms in August, compared to 63,345/- recorded in July. 

Additionally, the price of beans increased to 264,986/- from 263,998/- during the same period.

Tanzania is the leading producer of non-genetically modified maize and a net exporter of this commodity to other countries in the Eastern and Southern African regions. 

Since 2023, Tanzania has emerged as a significant source of maize exports to these regions, benefitting from bumper harvests fueled by above-average rainfall. 

Key markets for Tanzanian maize include Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Zambia.

According to Minister of Agriculture Hussein Basha, the country anticipates harvesting over 10 million tonnes of maize during the 2024 season, which runs from mid-June to July. 

Minister Basha was quoted in July saying that Tanzania produced 8.1 million tonnes of maize last year against a demand of 6 million tonnes, resulting in a surplus of 2.1 million tonnes available for export markets.

In September of this year, Malawi announced plans to import maize from Tanzania to mitigate rising commodity prices, as the Southern African country continues to face constrained supply, according to the AGRA Food Security Monitor for August. 

The report indicates that Tanzania has experienced a good harvest, with an estimated 4 million tonnes of excess maize this year, which is equivalent to seven times the projected import requirements for Malawi in 2024 and sufficient to address the region’s overall deficit.

Tanzania is also set to export 500,000 tonnes of maize to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) under a trade agreement signed on May 21, 2024. 

The Ministry of Agriculture stated that the maize business agreement with the DRC is part of the strategies Tanzania is implementing to boost the export of food crops to other countries, aiming to establish itself as a center of food production in Africa.

Reports indicate that Southern Africa is expected to face a negative maize balance in the 2024/25 marketing year, with Tanzania poised to become a key exporter. In July of this year, it was announced that Tanzania would sell 650,000 tonnes of maize to Zambia in a deal designed to help the Southern African nation alleviate food shortages resulting from a prolonged drought.

To ensure price and supply stability in local markets, the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) purchased 118,625 tonnes of maize in August, primarily sourced from the Rukwa, Songwe, Arusha, Njombe, and Ruvuma regions. During the month, the Agency released 2,421 tonnes of maize to traders.