Food situation in Tanzania still satisfactory despite rising food prices – BoT

Despite rising food prices reported across the country in recent months, the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has maintained that the food situation in the country has remained satisfactory largely due to availability of diverse food crops in different regions of the country.

According to the BoT Monthly Economic review for October 2022, food stock of held by the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) was 151,794 tonnes at the end of October 2022 that comprised of maize, paddy and sorghum.

The report noted that during October 2022, the agency purchased 4,672.6 tonnes of maize and 46.3 tonnes of sorghum, and sold1, 969.4 tonnes of maize from its storage facilities in Arusha, Songea and Shinyanga to grain millers, traders and targeted vulnerable population.

The report however noted that food inflation (food and non-alcoholic beverages) edged to 9.1 per cent in October 2022 from 8.3 per cent recorded in the preceding month.

“Much of the increase emanated from prices of maize flour, rice, beans, dry sardines, soya, and cassava. Broadly, prices of all main food crops increased, mainly owing to higher demand from neighbouring countries,” the report said.

The report said Inflation continued to increase in most of Tanzania’s trading partners and around the world, driven by sustained food shortages and higher input costs due to spiking energy prices.

“Due to this hostile external environment and domestic supply-side constraints, inflation continued to trend upward, reaching 4.9 percent in October 2022, from 4.8 percent,” the report said.