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Tanzania has banned all agricultural imports from South Africa and Malawi in the last episode growing trading.
“We take this step to protect our business interests. This business is in business we have to respect each other,” said Tanzania’s Agriculture Minister Hussein Bash on Wednesday, confirming this step.
South Africa has been banned from entering Tanzania for many years. Malawi, who shares the border with Tanzania, blocked the imports of flour, rice, ginger, bananas and corn from the northern neighbor.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve prolonged trade issues still failed, but Bash said fresh talks were ongoing.
South African exports to Tanzania from different fruits, including apples and grapes, will be shot down. Meanwhile, Malawi, who hoped to Tanzanian ports to move his exports, such as tobacco, sugar and soy in the rest of the world, will need to redirect their goods.
According to the Lylongwear authorities, Malawi’s ban on imports of certain products, announced in March, was developed as a temporary measure that covers goods from all countries to protect local manufacturers.
“This is a strategic step to create conditions where a local business can thrive without direct pressure of foreign competition,” said Malawi Mumbik Minister at the time.
The Tanzania Agriculture Minister said Malawi’s step “directly touched” his country’s merchants and called restrictions as “unfair and harmful”.
Confirmed by the ban on imports, Bash assured the Tanzanians that it did not threaten their food security.
“No Tanzanian will die from the lack of South African grapes and apples,” he said, adding that “we take these actions to protect the Tanzanian interests.”
The governments of South Africa and Malawi have not yet commented on the ban.
It seems that differences are already affected by trade flows in three countries – all members of the South Africa Development (SADC), regional political, security and economic body.
On Saturday Bash Posted by video in social media showing a bunch of rotten bananas In a truck directed at the border with Malawi, saying that Tanzania was difficult to tolerate the tendency.
In recent years, Malawi has become an increasingly important market for Tanzania’s goods, and exports from 2018 to 2023, according to official Tanzanic figures.
But while Tanzania can look for alternative markets such as Kenya, Namibia and South Sudan, Malawi can be more difficult to get their goods from the country.
Most of its export goes through the Tanzanian port of the gift -us -salam, as well as substantial imports such as fuel and machine.
Loss of access to the gift -e -us -salam is likely to force Malawi to transfer supplies through the ports of Mazambik Bira and Nakova -options that can be more expensive.
Bash claimed that the ban should not provoke a trade war, but to protect the interests of Tanzania.
“Tanzania will not continue to allow uneven market access to be stored at the expense of their people,” he said.
Additional report WyCliffe Muia, Alfred Lasteck and Wedaeli Chibelushi
