Local milk production rises by 25 per cent

Dar es Salaam. Local milk processing has increased by 25 per cent in the first six months following implementation of the new import fees compared to last financial year’s figures, The Citizen can explain.

The Tanzania Dairy Board registrar, Ms Sophia Mlote, told The Citizen that local milk processing jumped to 70 million litres, up from the 56 million litres recorded in the previous fiscal year.

To spur local production, last October the government introduced new regulations under which milk import fees were increased from Sh150 to Sh2,000 a litre.

Local manufacturers include Tanga Fresh, Azam, Asas, Milkcom & Galax Food and Beverages.

“Local production has gone up, and importation has dwindled by 7.5 per cent during the first six months of implementation of the new import fee,” noted Dr Mlote.

Currently, Tanzania is importing an average of 24.8 million litres of milk annually, according to her.

Tanzania - the second largest East African economy - is estimated to spend some Sh40 billion on imports of dairy products.

To reduce the money being spent on imports - and increase local production to 2.7 billion, up from 2.4 billion - the government decided to hike tax on imported milk.

Dr Mlote further said that the price of locally-produced milk will increase from Sh700 to Sh1000 a litre, a move which aims at empowering farmers.

“We are committed to boosting the processing capacity of milk yearly from the current 70 million litres this financial year to 210 million by the next fiscal year,” Dr Mlote said.

She said milk consumption rose from 47 litres per person annually in the previous financial year to 49 liters per person in the current financial year.

Azam Dairy Products, Asas Dairies and Tanga Fresh were recently quoted by The Citizen as saying that the increase in import duty has had some positive outcomes on their operations.

Milk processing industries generally increased their daily production from 153,100 litres to 194,335 litres, according to the dairy board.

In recent months, a survey by The Citizen established that milk prices jumped up by between Sh100 and Sh2, 000 on account of fees charged by agents and pressure on supply of the commodity.

Tanga Fresh, Azam Milk, KCC and First Choice are all available at the market, but at higher prices, a situation which confirms continued pressure on consumers.