Tanzanian farmers, stakeholders set minimum cotton price

23 Jun '14

2 min read

Farmers and cotton stakeholders, including buyers, represented by the Tanzania Cotton Growers Association (TACOGA), Tanzania Cotton Association (TCA), and the Tanzania Cotton Board (TCB) have agreed on a minimum price of Tsh750 (US$ 0.446)/kg of cotton for the new marketing season that began on June 18, 2014, according to an East African Business Week report.

The decision on minimum cotton price was taken at a meeting in the capital Dodoma earlier this month.

TCB managing director Gabriel Mwalo said buying below the set price of Tsh750/kg would mean contempt of the Cotton Industry Act (Act No. 2 of 2001).

The minimum cotton price that farmers should get for their produce this season was decided on the basis of a number of factors, including international market price, production costs, transportation costs, ginning costs, and contribution to the cotton development fund.

In Tanzania cotton is grown in 15 regions, divided into two zones—Western and Eastern. These two zones have different soil types and their rain distribution and cotton pests and diseases also differ.

In the Western zone—comprising of Geita, Kagera, Kigoma, Mara, Mwanza, Shinyanga, Simiyu, Singida and Tabora regions—the planting season beings in the middle of November and harvesting commences in June.

On the other hand, in the Eastern zone—which includes Coast, Iringa, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Morogoro and Tanga—planting season starts in beginning of February and harvesting process launches in September.

For the ongoing cotton season 2014-15, Tanzania is expected to produce 250,000 tons.

In 2012-13, Tanzanian farmers produced around 360,000 tons of cotton, about 57 percent more than 255,000 tons produced in 2011-12.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

More Textiles News - Tanzania...