• Are edible oils a key to the success of Tanzania’s agriculture sector?
  • November 2017 2 Context: The study is informed by the Government of Tanzania¡¯s commitment to industrialize the economy, as framed in the latest Five-Year Development Plan, and the identification of the edible oils value chain as key to the success of the agriculture sector Three edible oils studies are being conducted in parallel.
  • Should SMEs invest in edible oils in Tanzania?
  • In particular, the team found that large Tanzanian companies are well positioned to make this investment; investors can source raw materials from local SMEs, which would experience higher productivity from rising demand. In late 2017, the USAID team designed a three-phase feasibility study for the edible oils sector.
  • What is the demand gap for edible oil in TZ?
  • Despite strong growth in sunflower seed production, the level of edible oil processing in TZ is low compared to prevailing demand (est. at 300,000 ¨C 400,000 tons a year). Much of the demand gap is currently met by imported edible oil (60% across all edible oils, 55-70% for sunflower oil) (Salisali, 2017).
  • How can the got reduce Tanzania’s dependence on imported edible oil?
  • The GoT wants to reduce Tanzania¡¯s dependence on imported edible oil by boosting domestic oil seed production and downstream oil processing capacity. In 2016 the GoT implemented a 10% tariff on imports of CPO as one mechanism to support this objective, but stakeholder views on the merits of the tariff policy are mixed.
  • Does Tanzania have a shortage of edible oil?
  • While the local and regional market for edible oils is large and growing, local supply in Tanzania is not keeping up. Given a shortfall of 360K metric tons, Tanzania imports over 60% of the country¡¯s cooking oil. This costs USD 250M in palm oil imports every year, making it the sector with the second highest foreign exchange transactions by value.
  • Does Metl sell edible oil?
  • The company mainly trades in edible oil but also manufactures soap, cosmetics, cooking fats, margarine, bread spreads, tea blends and packaging, and liquid and powder detergents. MeTL Group, through East Coast Oils and Fats, boasts 60% of the total market share in edible oil sales from the plant¡¯s 45,000 metric tons production monthly.