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Promote:Tanzania

Export from Tanzania

A short guide for companies selling from Tanzania: the export figures, the agreements and their limits, the main steps and who can help, each with its source.

1. What Tanzania sells, and who buys it

Top goods exports

2025

  1. 1. Gold (HS 7108)US$4.75 billion
  2. 2. Unmanufactured tobacco (HS 2401)US$561.1 million
  3. 3. Cashew and other edible nuts (HS 0801)US$429.8 million
  4. 4. Coffee (HS 0901)US$373.3 million
  5. 5. Copper ores (HS 2603)US$347.8 million
  6. 6. Dried beans and peas (HS 0713)US$301.5 million
  7. 7. Oilseeds (HS 1207)US$262.7 million
  8. 8. Maize (HS 1005)US$143.6 million
Show 12 more products
  1. 9. Coal (HS 2701)US$115.4 million
  2. 10. Cocoa beans (HS 1801)US$100.8 million
  3. 11. Sweetened and flavored waters (HS 2202)US$91.2 million
  4. 12. Colored gemstones (HS 7103)US$88.9 million
  5. 13. Raw cotton (HS 5201)US$88.8 million
  6. 14. Fish fillets (HS 0304)US$88.3 million
  7. 15. Float glass (HS 7005)US$83.1 million
  8. 16. Rice (HS 1006)US$77.3 million
  9. 17. Sugar (HS 1701)US$59.2 million
  10. 18. Dried and smoked fish (HS 0305)US$55.8 million
  11. 19. Tropical fruit (HS 0804)US$55.5 million
  12. 20. Sheep and goat meat (HS 0204)US$55.1 million

Source: UN Comtrade, Tanzania exports by product, 2025⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025

Where the goods go

2025, share of goods exports

  • South Africa28.8%
  • United Arab Emirates13.1%
  • India9.3%
  • China5.1%
  • Switzerland4.3%
  • Kenya4.2%
  • Belgium3.5%
  • Singapore3.3%
  • Gold went mainly to South Africa (US$2,855.5 million), the United Arab Emirates (US$1,143.6 million) and Switzerland (US$350.7 million) in 2025. Source⁠ (opens in a new tab)

Source: UN Comtrade, Tanzania exports by destination, 2025⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of 2025

2. What to look into next

Our reading

Promote:Global’s reading of the figures above, not a source’s statement, and not advice.

3. Trade agreements

What each arrangement can mean for a seller, and its limits. A preference is conditional: check the rules of origin before you quote.

  • East African Community (EAC) Customs Union

    Each EAC country must give duty-free access to imports from the other member countries, according to the WTO's 2019 review.

    Rules-based preference, so check origin rules and the domestic taxes the destination still charges.

    Source: WTO, East African Community Trade Policy Review, 2019⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of February 13, 2019

  • East African Community (EAC) Common Market Protocol

    The protocol, signed in 2009 and operational since July 2010, provides for free movement of people, goods, services, labor and capital, per the WTO review.

    Rules-based framework, not unconditional market access, so check your sector in the destination.

    Source: WTO, East African Community Trade Policy Review, 2019⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of February 13, 2019

  • Southern African Development Community (SADC) Free Trade Area

    The WTO's 2019 review says Tanzania takes part in the SADC free trade area, and the trade portal lists a SADC certificate of origin.

    Rules-based preference, so check that your destination applies it and that the goods meet SADC origin rules.

    Source: WTO, East African Community Trade Policy Review, 2019⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of February 13, 2019

  • African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

    Tanzania trades under the Guided Trade Initiative; by April 2026, 40 companies had used AfCFTA certificates of origin and 500 had been issued, the trade ministry says.

    Rules-based preference, not unconditional market access, so check the importing country's tariff schedule.

    Source: Ministry of Industry and Trade, budget speech 2026/27 (in Swahili)⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026

Show 2 more agreements

4. Steps to export

The main steps, in order, each with the body responsible and its official page.

Exporting from Tanzania

  1. Register your company and get a class A business license, which businesses that deal in international trade need.Business Registrations and Licensing AgencyOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Tanzania Trade Portal, export procedures page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026

  2. Get a taxpayer number and register for tax; a business applies within fifteen days of starting.Tanzania Revenue Authority15 days to applyOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: TRA, starting a business and tax number page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026

  3. Register with the Cereals and Other Produce Regulatory Authority as a dealer, then get an export permit for each consignment; edible oil has its own permit.Cereals and Other Produce Regulatory AuthorityPermit valid up to one yearOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Attorney General, Food Security permits regulations, 2026⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of June 30, 2026

  4. Apply for a coffee export license if you sell coffee, and a cashew nut buying license if you buy raw cashew nuts.Tanzania Coffee BoardOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Tanzania, Coffee Industry Act, Cap. 347⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026

Show 8 more export steps
  1. Apply to the Mining Commission for an export permit if you export minerals; the application fee is USD 100.Mining CommissionUSD 100 application feeOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Mining Commission, procedures for exporting minerals⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026

  2. Ask the chamber of commerce for a certificate of origin for each consignment; the trade portal lists EAC, SADC, AfCFTA, AGOA and non-preferential types.Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and AgricultureOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Tanzania Trade Portal, export procedures page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026

  3. For exports to the European Union, register in the Registered Exporter system with the revenue authority.Tanzania Revenue AuthorityOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Tanzania Trade Portal, export procedures page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026

  4. Check product standards and ask the standards bureau about its technical assistance to exporters.Tanzania Bureau of StandardsOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: TBS, home page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026

  5. Get a phytosanitary certificate for plants and plant products; it is valid for one consignment.Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticides AuthorityOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Tanzania Trade Portal, export procedures page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026

  6. Appoint a licensed clearing and forwarding agent, who files the export declaration in the customs system with your permits and pays any export tax.Tanzania Revenue AuthorityOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: TRA, export procedures page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026

  7. Receive export proceeds through a bank within ninety days, and give the bank any export documents it asks for after customs clearance.Bank of Tanzania90 days for proceedsOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: Bank of Tanzania, Foreign Exchange (Amendment) Regulations, 2026⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of July 17, 2026

  8. Sell exports at zero percent value added tax; registration is mandatory at taxable turnover of TZS 200 million.Tanzania Revenue AuthorityOfficial page⁠ (opens in a new tab)

    Source: TRA, value added tax page⁠ (opens in a new tab) · as of October 31, 2026

5. Organizations that help exporters

Start with TanTrade and TRA. Each card links to the organization’s own site.

Each card says what it can help with:Get adviceFind financeMeet requirementsResearch markets

Export development and market information

Show 2 more organizations

Customs and tax

Standards and sector requirements

Show 5 more organizations

Chambers and industry associations

6. Worth knowing

Show 2 more

7. How Promote:Global helps

  • Compare potential export marketsSee which markets import what you sell, ranked on public trade data, and read each country before you commit.
  • Check duties and document requirementsCheck the duty, the origin conditions for a preferential rate and the documents a shipment needs.
  • Find advisors and service firmsAsk an advisory firm a scoped, paid question, or browse firms that list their own services, from legal work to logistics.
  • Organize your next stepsKeep each product and market in a project, with a roadmap of steps you work through.

Turn this guide into your Tanzania project.

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Promote:Tanzania is an independent guide by Promote:Global, not an official government portal. The organizations named here are independent public and membership bodies, not Promote:Global partners, and every link goes to their own site.

Facts read from public sources, with an editorial cut-off of October 31, 2026. Nothing here is investment, legal, tax or sanctions advice. Check current status with the organization before you rely on it.