Z’bar clove exports decline by Sh52bn, says BoT report

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 The Citizen Reporter

By  Ludger Kasumuni,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

• But the report indicates that the unit price per tonne of cloves in the same period increased from $11,071 (Sh22.1 million) to $11,122 (Sh22.2 million).

Dar es Salaam. The export value of Zanzibar’s main crop, cloves, declined from $59 million (Sh118 billion) to $33 million (Sh66 billion) between February 15 last year and February 15 this year, according to a Bank of Tanzania report of March this year. Under the report, the decline in clove export value is at 44.8 per cent in one year, which is attributed by the fall in its output from 53,000 tonnes to 22,000 tonnes.

But the report indicates that the unit price per tonne of cloves in the same period increased from $11,071 (Sh22.1 million) to $11,122 (Sh22.2 million).

“All traditional export crops recorded lower export value relative to the corresponding period in 2014, except cashew nuts and sisal. The decline in the value was due to a fall in the export volume and prices,” reads the report.

The Zanzibar economy has been depending on cloves for the last 150 years.

But frustration is growing among farmers in the Spice Islands about a battle between the public and private sectors which is reducing production and their incomes, according to agribusiness analysts.

Prof Damian Gabagambi of agricultural economics at the Sokoine University of Agriculture told The Citizen on Monday that the starting point for identifying the causes of continuing decline in clove output should be the weak link of value chain that ruins competitive advantages of Zanzibar’s cloves in the global market. “The fact is that the quality of Zanzibar cloves cannot compete with others in Indonesia and other new comers in the global market. The value chain of Zanzibar cloves in terms of farming practices, processing, storage and marketing activities must be improved,” said Prof Gabagambi.