Tanzania's minister for agriculture, Mr Hussein Bashe
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania plans to block the importation of agricultural produce from Malawi and South Africa starting Wednesday, April 23, 2025, should the two countries fail to lift what are described as discriminatory trade restrictions against Tanzanian exports.
Minister for Agriculture, Mr Hussein Bashe, made the announcement on Thursday, April 17, via his social media platforms, stating that repeated diplomatic efforts to resolve the impasse had yielded no positive outcome.
“The government has officially received reports that Malawi has blocked the entry of Tanzanian agricultural produce including flour, rice, ginger, bananas and maize. This move has directly affected our traders who export these goods to Malawi,” said Mr Bashe.
He said that Tanzania had also faced persistent challenges in accessing the South African market, particularly for bananas.
“For the past five years, we have been trying to open the South African market for our bananas without success. This mirrors the struggle we faced for over a decade in accessing their avocado market—an issue that was only resolved after we took concrete steps to protect our national interests,” he said.
In light of the current situation, Mr Bashe said the government will enforce three measures if the restrictions remain in place beyond next Wednesday.
The measures include blocking the importation of all agricultural products from Malawi and South Africa; blocking agricultural consignments from the two countries from transiting through Tanzania to the Port of Dar es Salaam or any other destination and halting the transportation of fertilisers to Malawi to safeguard the interests of Tanzanian farmers and traders.
“All Tanzanian exporters of agricultural products are advised to suspend the loading of goods until Malawi and South Africa change their positions,” Mr Bashe advised.
He further cautioned importers, saying: “Traders who have placed orders for apples, oranges, and other products typically sourced from South Africa should halt those transactions, as we will not permit their entry into the country until South Africa opens its market to our bananas.”
Mr Bashe confirmed that his attempts to reach out to Malawi’s Minister of Agriculture had gone unanswered.
“These measures aim to protect the dignity of our nation, the livelihoods of our farmers, and the principles of fairness in regional trade,” he said.
