Why Tanzanian meat processors fail to beat foreign competitors

Arusha. Lack of a grading system has been termed as one of the hitches that make Tanzanian meat processors miss a competitive edge against their foreign counterparts in the meat business.

A local entrepreneur, Justin Shirima who is the founder and managing partner of Arusha-based small-scale meat business known as Winning Creative said the local meat processors failed to grade their meet hence limiting their markets.

Mr Shirima who is also the managing director of the Tanzania Farmers’ Association (TFA) cited other challenges as high taxes on equipment and machines such as saws and chopping boards, meat grinding machines, packaging and labeling materials.

Other challenges are availability of expertise in meat processing, lack of cold chain facilities and a disjointed meat value chain from the industry to airports and ports.

“For instance it is very hard to get trained butchery professionals because of absence of such curriculum and this is an important factor for the growth of the industry. The industry also needs the establishment of quality slaughterhouses,” he said.

“The government has done well to ban meat import but it should go further by easing conditions for improving the industry’s performance in Tanzania,” he said.

A study named ‘Characterising the Tanzanian quality beef supply chain’, which contains a case of Arusha and Dar esSalaam, states that a significant portion of quality beef (23 per cent) traded through supermarkets and modern butchers; and tourist hotels and restaurants were imported mainly from Kenya.

“Despite having the largest cattle population in Africa after Sudan and Ethiopia with the expansion of quality beef market share, Tanzania has remained a net importer of quality beef (QB) products for the past three decades” the study states citing statistics from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

More than 700 tonnes (80 per cent) of QB consumed in the country are imported annually and the importation contributes to depletion of the nation’s meager foreign exchange, the report states.

The importation of substantial portion of quality beef in the country calls for the attention of beef industry stakeholders in Tanzania, the study said.

According to the study, niche markets that require livestock quality products and pay premium prices are increasingly dominating the market share of East African countries. In Tanzania, the tourist industry that forms the main part (88 per cent) of quality beef consumers has increased plausibly.

It also states that importation of beef is accompanied with underutilization of beef processing factories that is operating at 50 per cent capacity; with only two per cent of beef produced being processed country wide while the remaining beef is sold warm and undifferentiated.

“Sustainable supply of quality beef in the niche markets requires a well-coordinated and integrated chain that ensures understanding of competitive challenges, relationship among chain actors and notices of efficient product flows among chain actors to access the markets,” the study states.