Tanzania is losing out to Brazil and Kenya in sisal exports despite putting in place plans to boost the current annual production of 36,000 tonnes to 80,000 tonnes by 2022.
A senior economist with the Trade and Markets Division of the United National Food and Agricultural Organization (Fao), Jean Luc Namegabe said here recently that Tanzania - which holds a 20 per cent share of total exports - registered a 29.8 decrease in exports in 2016.
"By contrast, in Brazil and Kenya, exports of sisal fiber rose by 0.2 and 1.0 per cent respectively... .Together, these two countries contributed 70 per cent of the world exports of sisal," he said. Brazil is leading producer and exporter of sisal in the world while Kenya and Tanzania come in second and third positions respectively.
He said that world imports of sisal steadily declined to 58,030 tonnes in 2016. The USA remained the largest importer, accounting for 39 per cent while the EU followed, taking up a 23 per cent share.
He said that the sisal production and trade outlook shows that world sisal production would grow annually by 0.9 per cent to 273,000 tonnes by 2026, with Tanzania, Kenya and Madagascar, projected to grow their production volumes by 2.5 per cent, 1.1 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively.
