Tanzania’s government has said it is exploring more tobacco markets in Middle East, Northern Africa and Eastern Asia, Tanzania Daily News reported.

Despite the sharp decline in smoking, the tobacco industry remains the country’s biggest foreign exchange earner with an annual revenue of USD 265 million, the report said.
Minister for Agriculture, Prof Adolf Mkenda, told reporters on Monday after his meeting with the management and members of Tanzania Tobacco Board (TTB) that the government wanted to export its finest tobacco to China, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan, among other countries. "If we want to succeed we must revive our processing factories as soon as possible," he was quoted as saying. Two of the processing factories in Morogoro and Songea are no longer in operation, according to the minister.
Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Hussein Bashe, noted that tobacco production in Tanzania is expected to increase from 42,000 metric tonnes in 2019/20 to 67,000 metric tonnes in 2020/21. "This is due to the emergence of local buyers," he said. According to the report, 65 per cent of cigarettes produced in Tanzania are exported abroad.