• Toyo Engineering Corporation holds talks with Tanzanian authorities to build a fertilizer plant producing ammonia and urea.

• Tanzania depends heavily on imports, sourcing about 31% of fertilizers from the Gulf region.

• Supply disruptions linked to Middle East tensions increase urgency for domestic production capacity.

Japan’s industrial group Toyo Engineering Corporation is negotiating with Tanzanian authorities to establish a fertilizer manufacturing plant in the East African nation. A company delegation led by International Department Director Taisuke Nonaka held discussions with Athumani Kilundumya, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture.

Kilundumya said, “The government will continue to work with private investors in the fertilizer sector to ensure sufficient supply and accelerate fertilizer adoption among our farmers.”

Local media reported on March 28 that the proposed plant will produce key fertilizers such as ammonia and urea. The project aims to improve domestic availability and support agricultural productivity.

This announcement comes amid tightening global fertilizer markets and ongoing supply chain disruptions affecting Tanzania. Since late February 2026, military escalation involving the United States, Israel, and Iran has disrupted maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. This corridor handles roughly one-third of global seaborne fertilizer trade, equivalent to nearly 16 million tonnes.

According to UNCTAD, Tanzania sourced about 31% of its fertilizer imports from the Gulf region in 2024. This reliance makes it the second most dependent African country on the region after Sudan.

Against this backdrop, the planned project offers an opportunity to strengthen domestic industrial capacity and reduce reliance on imports. Tanzania still underutilizes its natural resource base. In 2024, the state-owned Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) estimated the country’s natural gas reserves at 54.57 trillion standard cubic feet. However, operators exploit less than 2% of these reserves, despite gas being a critical input for nitrogen-based fertilizer production.

Authorities and Toyo have not yet disclosed investment costs, production capacity, or implementation timelines. Nevertheless, the project confirms growing foreign investor interest in Tanzania’s fertilizer sector.

In August 2024, Indonesian agrochemical firm PT ESSA Industries signed a memorandum of understanding with TPDC and the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC). The partners plan to build a urea plant in the Mtwara region by 2029, with a total investment of 3.5 trillion shillings ($1.35 billion).

Tanzania imported an average of 568,217 tonnes of fertilizer annually between 2019 and 2023, according to data from the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC). Over the same period, local production averaged just 37,510 tonnes per year.

This article was initially published in French by Stéphanas Assocle 

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum