• Tanzania’s Tea Board opens talks with Egypt’s embassy in Dar es Salaam.

• Discussions focus on expanding market access and new trade agreements.

• Egypt is a key global tea importer, while Tanzania targets higher export revenue.

Tanzania’s tea industry aims to gain more share in the Egyptian tea market. In this context, the Tea Board of Tanzania (TBT) held talks with the Egyptian Embassy in Dar es Salaam during a meeting between the two parties on November 21.

In a statement published on its website, the sector regulator said the discussions focused on opportunities to expand Tanzania’s tea market in Egypt. The parties also explored the possibility of concluding agreements to facilitate trade between the two countries.

The statement said the embassy would invite the Tea Board to join several trade and investment forums between the two countries, adding that these platforms are expected to create new opportunities for direct cooperation in the tea trade.

The stakes are high for Dodoma, as Egypt is the largest tea market in Africa and the eighth worldwide, behind Pakistan, the USA, the UK, and the United Arab Emirates. According to data compiled on the Trade Map platform, Egypt imported about $273.7 million worth of tea in 2024, of which around 0.2 %, or $617,000, came from Tanzania.

In its effort to capture more market share in Egypt, Tanzania’s industry will face strong competition from Kenya, which dominates the market. In 2024, East Africa’s largest economy supplied 88.8 % of Egypt’s tea imports by value. Smaller suppliers such as India, Sri Lanka, and Malawi also compete in the market.

More broadly, an increase in shipments to Egypt would strengthen the contribution of the tea sector to Tanzania’s agricultural export revenue. According to Trade Map, the East African country earned nearly $19.4 million from tea exports in 2024.

Stéphanas Assocle