Tanzania avocado exports earned $97.2 million in the 2025/26 season, more than double the $44.2 million of 2020/21, and Kostiv Tanzania Group took Hass and Fuerte avocados from the Southern Highlands to Fruit Attraction 2026 in Madrid, Spain, to meet importers, wholesalers and retailers.
The company exhibited at the trade fair, which ran from October 6 to 8, as the country works to strengthen its position in the global market. Volumes have grown alongside earnings.
Tanzania shipped about 52,000 tonnes of avocados in 2025/26, up 237% from 15,433 tonnes in 2020/21, while national production rose 36% from 149,340 tonnes to 203,473 tonnes. The Tanzania avocado exports passed the government’s 2030 target of 40,000 tonnes four years early, and shipments now reach the Netherlands, India, the United Arab Emirates, France, South Africa and China.
Fruit Attraction, organised by IFEMA Madrid and FEPEX, expected more than 2,500 exhibitors and over 121,000 industry professionals from 150 countries at its 18th edition, which gave Tanzanian growers direct access to European and international buyers.
Kostiv Tanzania Group founder and chief executive Petro Richard Kostiv said Tanzania needs to promote its produce more actively to attract international buyers and build confidence in its ability to deliver consistently.
He said buyers expect reliable supplies, consistent quality, proper documentation, and timely deliveries, making coordination across the supply chain essential. The company operates Hass avocado orchards in Njombe, which its website describes as about 1,000 acres under development, and works with trained smallholder farmers through its export network. It lists GLOBALG.A.P. and GRASP certification.
Government programmes target the inputs that sustain that growth. In 2025/26 the government recruited 50 extension officers, supported 169 grower groups and subsidised 129,986 seedlings, and it plans to distribute another 500,000 seedlings in 2026/27. It is also building 20 collection centres across 13 councils and plans 39 wells in Njombe, Mufindi and Iringa.
Agriculture Minister Daniel Chongolo spoke at the Third National Avocado Stakeholders’ Forum in Dodoma, crediting cooperation between government and the private sector for the growth, while the Cereal and Other Produce Regulatory Authority plans to enforce quality standards and improve trade transparency in 2026/27.
Africa Global News publication.