Tanzania’s banana gamble: The race from farm to South Africa’s supermarket shelves

DAR ES SALAAM: THE first banana shipment to South Africa will carry more than fruit. It will carry Tanzania’s ambition to turn one of its oldest crops into a modern export business.

This development comes as the country has secured formal entry into the South African banana market.

Consequently, its ambitions will be immediately tested by the structure of the market it is entering.

South Africa already boasts one of the most organised and sophisticated fresh produce markets in Africa.

It imports significant volumes of bananas to meet domestic demand, supplied mainly by Mozambique and Eswatini, countries that have spent years building production and export systems.

In such systems, bananas are not only grown. They are selected, packed, transported, and delivered through systems that allow buyers to plan supplies weeks ahead.

Mozambique’s advantage comes from its location, established cross-border routes, and production areas already connected to South African markets.

On the other hand, Eswatini has built stronger commercial farming systems that support consistent quality and regular supply.

For South African buyers, the message from both suppliers is the same. Reliability comes first, and volume comes second.

That is the market Tanzania is entering. This is why the announcement from the Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticides Authority (TPHPA) is being viewed from different angles across the industry.

Speaking to the media in Arusha earlier this week, Professor Joseph Ndunguru, Director General of TPHPA, emphasised that the importance is not only gaining access to the market, but proving that Tanzania’s systems can meet international expectations.

“This progress demonstrates Tanzania’s ability to meet international market requirements and compete effectively in agricultural exports,” he says.

Then, he shifts the focus from trade to trust. “This is about trust in systems. Production systems, inspection systems, compliance systems. Without trust, there is no market.”

That word trust now runs through the entire banana value chain. But different people understand it differently.

In Dar es Salaam, agribusiness exporter Michael Mwakalukwa sees it as a question of discipline.

“You do not win export markets by producing bananas,” he says. “You win them by delivering the same banana every week.”

He pauses before explaining the reality of international buyers. “If you miss consistency once, you are replaced. Buyers do not wait.”

Between Ndunguru’s emphasis on trust, Mozambique’s market experience, Eswatini’s organised supply systems, and Mwakalukwa’s warning on consistency, the same message emerges.

The question is not whether Tanzania can grow bananas. It is whether Tanzania can deliver them consistently.

That question becomes sharper when placed against national production figures.

Tanzania produces between 2.6 million and 3.7 million tonnes of bananas annually, according to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates.

In regions such as Kagera, bananas are not only food. They are the foundation of local livelihoods and trade.

But when production figures are discussed with researchers, the conversation moves beyond quantity.

In a review published in the African Journal of Agricultural Research, Lucas Shija of the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) and Kennedy Jomanga of Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) note that banana productivity remains below its full potential in many growing areas.

Their findings highlight several challenges; declining soil quality, crop diseases, limited access to improved planting materials, and slow adoption of better farming practices.

When farmers in Kagera hear this, it is not theory. It is their daily experience.

Jumanne Mushumbusi, who has farmed bananas for more than forty years, does not challenge the research. He sees the results in his own fields.

“Bananas are our bank,” he says. “They are what we depend on.” But he also understands that the market is changing.

“I have just heard about export standards now. Quality, packaging, inspections. These are new requirements for many farmers here.”

He looks at the future with both hope and caution.

“In the past, you grew bananas and sold them when they were ready. Now the market wants more. It wants certain sizes, better handling, and proper preparation,” he observed.

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That change from traditional farming to commercial production is echoed in Kilimanjaro by Mama Grace Lema.

“We know how to grow bananas, we’ve been doing for ages” she says. “What is now changing is how the market wants them delivered.”

She explains that farmers understand the opportunity, but many need guidance.

“Ofcourse we’ve heard about grading and export quality. But bananas do not all grow the same way. Farmers need training so they understand what the market expects.”

In Mbeya, Mama Neema Asegelile pushes the discussion further, focusing on the role of farmers in the new opportunity.

“If this market is real, then farmers must be part of it from the beginning,” she says. “Not only when the export is ready.”

She says farmers should not only receive information after decisions are made.

“We have heard about the export opportunities,” she noted. “But the people growing the bananas should also be involved. If standards are changing, farmers need to know early so they can prepare.”

That concern connects directly with what researchers have been studying for years.

Researchers Ass Mbwana and Daniel Rukazambuga, affiliated with SUA, show that some of the biggest challenges facing banana production begin below the surface.

Their work, titled “Banana Integrated Pest Management,” explains that banana plants face pressure from pests that damage the roots and weaken the plant over time.

The banana weevil and tiny soil pests called nematodes attack the underground parts of the plant.

A banana plant may look healthy above the ground while its ability to produce is already declining.

Their research shows that when these problems are managed properly, farmers can recover lost productivity.

But farmers say the challenge is not only knowing the solution. It is accessing it.

“We see those problems,” Mushumbusi says. “Sometimes the plant looks fine, but the bunch is small. We just did not know what was happening underground.”

He adds: “Even if you know the problem, the solution is not always available in the village. You need advice, you need support, and sometimes you need money.”

A 2025 study led by Dr Anitha Meya from the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) adds another part of the picture.

The study examined banana farming systems in northern Tanzania and found that continuous banana growing without replacing nutrients has reduced soil strength in some production areas.

It also showed that combining organic manure with mineral fertilisers can greatly improve yields.

The research involves Prof Rony Swennen from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Prof Patrick Ndakidemi and Dr Kelvin Mtei from NM-AIST, and Prof Roel Merckx from KU Leuven University.

The research team recorded higher production levels in fields where farmers used a combination of the documented approaches.

For farmers, however, the issue is access.

“Some are suggesting fertiliser and manure combinations,” Mushumbusi says. “But not everyone has the means. This is small-scale farming. I doubt if everyone can buy fertiliser.”

Mama Grace adds: “Even when fertiliser is available, the cost matters. Farmers have families and other responsibilities. Farming decisions are connected to everyday life.”

Mama Neema Asegelile links the issue to the bigger export question.

“If support for inputs becomes part of export development, more farmers can participate. Otherwise, only a few people may benefit,” she observed.

The Shell Foundation’s East Africa Fruits Market Analysis looks at the same challenge from a business angle.

The analysis shows that much of the value in fruit exports is created after farming through collection, sorting, packaging, storage, and transport. Mwakalukwa agrees.

“The farm is only the beginning,” he says. “The market starts after the farm.”

For him, export success depends on organisation.

“People think export is about producing more. But it is about controlling the whole process. Timing, quality, and coordination. If one part fails, the shipment fails,” he explained.

Then, he returns to his main point. “But you do not build an export business on one shipment. You build it by delivering the same quality every week.”

Ms Florence Magafu, a horticultural analyst based in Dar es Salaam, describes the challenge in simple terms.

“Tanzania does not have a banana problem,” she says. “It has a coordination problem.”

She explains that the country already has many of the important pieces.

“The science is there. Farmers are there. Markets are there. Even demand is there. What is missing is connecting these parts to work together,” she observed.

She believes that export agriculture depends on the whole chain working at the same time.

“If one part is strong and another part is weak, the system still struggles,” she added.

Research by Prof Dirk De Waele of KU Leuven University and Prof Maurice Elsen of the University of Pretoria supports this wider view.

Their studies on banana diseases and production losses show that banana performance depends on several connected factors.

For export markets, inconsistency is one of the biggest risks.

International markets are not built only on what a country can produce once. They are built on what a country can deliver repeatedly.

TPHPA says it has already started preparing exporters through training on plant safety requirements, certification, and market standards.

According to the authority, 15 local companies have been registered to participate in the export chain.

For Ndunguru, this is part of building confidence. “Without trust,” he says, “there is no market.”

But trust in this case is practical. It is measured through quality, reliable supply, and the ability to meet expectations every season.

South Africa’s market will not change its requirements for Tanzania. But Tanzania must strengthen its own systems.

In Kagera, Kilimanjaro, and Mbeya, banana farming will continue. Moreover, its role is changing.

It is moving from being mainly a food and income crop into a product competing in a regional market.

Farmers, researchers, exporters, regulators, and buyers are now connected to the same challenge.

Whether Tanzania can move from producing bananas to building a reliable banana business. The first shipment will mark entry.

Then, the shipments that follow will determine whether that entry becomes a lasting presence.

In that journey, Tanzania’s banana industry will no longer be measured only by what it grows. It will be measured by what it can consistently deliver.