Coffee harvests in Tanzania are projected to increase in the 2015 season to more than 60,000 tonnes, up from 40,000 tonnes of the previous season, the Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) has said.TCB Director General, Mr Adolf Kumburu (pictured), said that the board projects the 2014- 15 harvest will be better than last year, partly due to improved agricultural practices within the country and good rains.
“Generally we expect improved harvests compared to the season that is now closing due to proper rainfall and improved agricultural practices,” he said in an interview.
Tanzania, is Africa’s fourthbiggest coffee producer, after Ethiopia, Uganda and Ivory Coast. It produces mainly Arabica coffee and a bit of Robusta coffee.
Coffee harvest seasons begin from July to December in northern and southern highland areas and from May to October in the Western zone. According to TCB, coffee is grown by about 450,000 families which constitutes 90 per cent of the total coffee producers.
The remaining 10 per cent comes from the estates. Indirectly coffee makes a living for 6 per cent (2.4 million) of the country population.
Mr Kumburu said they were also expecting global coffee prices to stabilize after increasing from 2.5 US dollar to 4.0 US dollar per kilogramme.
“Our projections is that the global prices for coffee will stabilize in the coming season,” he said.
Reports from the International Coffee Organisation say coffee prices continued to slide downwards in December 2014, with the monthly average of ICO composite indicator at its lowest level since February.
Recent estimates from external sources, including the private sector and the USDA, have suggested that production in Brazil in crop year 2015/16 might recover relatively quickly.
Source: Daily News, reported by Henry Lyimo, from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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