Tanzania has announced plans to construct a giant grain storage facilities and distribution centres in Mombasa, Kenya to assist in selling surplus food crops from the country.
Tanzania is ambitious about the grain storage facilities as the country is already operating established two-grain storage spaces in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
The proposed large Silos will facilitate the trading of surplus food crops between Kenya and Tanzania. The investment will improve bilateral trade between the two countries, which stood at US$905.5 million from January to November 2021.
Through the Mombasa grain centre, Tanzania will be supplying agricultural products directly to Kenya. Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta agreed to harmonize trade barriers between the two countries resulting in a better trading environment.
Involvement
The grain storage facility will be used by both the government and the private sector. According to the Minister of Agriculture, Hussein Bashe, the ministry would not directly involve itself in selling the grain exports but would act as an initiator.
“We have opened grain centres in Juba, South Sudan, and Lubumbashi in the DRC and already delivered 800 tonnes of grains to the two centres, in efforts to enable Tanzanian farmers and traders to get good markets for their products. We believe access to markets motivates farmers to increase production,” Bashe said.
The Tanzania Cereals and Other produce Board (CPB) reported that the grain stores in Juba and Lubumbashi were already experiencing a vibrant business environment. They also expected the Mombasa facility to outperform the two.
