The fertilizer market in Tanzania
- Nov 1, 2024
- 1 min read
A CCRED Working Paper examines the state of competition in Tanzania's fertilizer market.
Fertilizer is a key input in commercial agriculture, and it is used extensively in production of commodities such as maize, a staple food in Tanzania. About 90% of Tanzania’s fertilizer requirement is imported and, as a result, prices are primarily determined by the costs such as transportation, storage and the margins earned by importers and traders. Some of the large importers rely on the ports in Dar es Salaam and Mombasa to supply the East African region.
The report shows that the Tanzania fertilizer markets mirror the highly concentrated fertilizer markets in the wider East and Southern Africa region. While concentration has reduced in recent years at the importing level due to the entry of additional smaller importers, the large-scale import and distribution level remains highly concentrated with three suppliers collectively accounting for almost all the fertilizer distributed in Tanzania.
