Structural, Policy, and Market Drivers of Deterioration in Tanzania’s Tea Sector: A Value Chain Analysis
Braison E Mjanja*, Rhoda M Chacha, Lameck M Maleba and Finias F Mwesige
ABSTRACT
Tanzania's tea industry is a historically significant contributor to the country's agricultural export economy, generating an estimated USD 45–50 million in export revenues annually and sustaining the livelihoods of over 32,000 smallholder farming households and more than two million people indirectly. Despite this foundational role, the sector has experienced sustained, deepening deterioration, characterised by declining productivity, fragmented value chains, opaque pricing mechanisms, weak institutional governance, and growing climate vulnerability. This manuscript presents a comprehensive value chain analysis of the structural, policy, and market drivers underpinning the observed decline of Tanzania's tea sector. Drawing on a synthesis of peer-reviewed literature, sector reports, and recent policy documentation, the analysis maps the tea value chain from primary production through processing, marketing, and export, identifying critical bottlenecks at each node. The manuscript further examines how asymmetric power relations between smallholder farmers and downstream buyers perpetuate inequitable value distribution, and how policy and institutional failings, including delayed farm-gate payments, nontransparent pricing of green leaf tea, and insufficient regulatory enforcement, have compounded these structural weaknesses. The interaction of market and institutional constraints with climate variability is also assessed. The manuscript concludes with evidence-based recommendations for reform, including strengthening cooperation, transparent pricing frameworks, investment in irrigation and processing infrastructure, value addition, and market diversification strategies. The findings underscore the urgency of coordinated policy action to restore competitiveness, equity, and sustainability across Tanzania's tea value chain.
