Tanzania's Coffee Output May Drop 23% Next Season on Drought

(Bloomberg) -- Tanzania, Africa’s fourth-biggest coffee producer, said output next season may drop 23% because of a drought and lower crop cycle.

The crop for the season that starts in July may decline to 50,000 tons, the Tanzania Coffee Board said Monday in an emailed response to questions. It said last month that the country had experienced dryness in many growing areas, and that farmers would start collecting crops in May in the Kagera and Mara regions.

After missing earlier targets to boost production, the country has said it’s considering distributing seedlings to farmers in an effort to double supply in five years. Arabica coffee accounts for more than half of Tanzania’s output, and it mainly ships coffee to Japan, Italy, the U.S. and Belgium.

A lower cycle will follow a bumper harvest this season. Auctions for the 2019-20 crop will start in Moshi at the end of July, the board said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fred Ojambo in Kampala at fojambo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Nicholas Larkin, Liezel Hill

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