South Africa reassures on banana imports from Tanzania amid trade discussion
The Department of Agriculture has clarified that there is no ban on banana imports from Tanzania.
Image: File photo/Independent Newspapers
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has moved to set the record straight on the status of banana imports from Tanzania.
This comes after reports that Tanzania may impose a ban on agricultural imports from South Africa.
However the department said there was no ban on banana imports from Tanzania.
“There was never a ban on the imports of bananas from Tanzania to South Africa,” the Department said in a statement.
“It is prudent that the South African Ministry of Agriculture emphasises that there are good relations between the two countries regarding agricultural trade.”
According to the Department, the National Plant Protection Organization of South Africa (NPPOZA) has been working with Tanzanian counterparts to strengthen plant trade relations. Tanzanian avocados, for instance, have successfully entered the South African market over the past four years.
“The two technical counterparts from both South Africa and Tanzania are currently in negotiations to facilitate market access to allow the safe trade of bananas from Tanzania into South Africa,” the Department stated.
A formal request from Tanzania to export bananas to South Africa was received in February 2025. The Department said that South Africa is currently conducting a pest risk analysis (PRA), which is a necessary scientific process required to establish phytosanitary (plant health) import requirements.
“These processes will be conducted in accordance with relevant phytosanitary regulatory frameworks and relevant standards of the International Plant Protection Convention,” the Department said.
They highlighted the importance of such measures, noting that “safe international movement of agricultural products is essential considering the biosecurity risk associated with the spread of quarantine pests.
The Department said that the importation of bananas from Tanzania will commence only after both nations agree on the import conditions. “Once the envisaged PRA process has been concluded, the draft phytosanitary import requirements will be finalised and the Tanzanian authorities will be notified accordingly,” it said.
It further emphasised that “South Africa has never issued any ban on bananas from Tanzania because there was never market access granted for bananas from Tanzania,” and no official communication of a reciprocal ban had been received from Tanzanian authorities.