Tanzania Sisal Board pushes local processing as it targets $209m in exports

Sunday 15th November 2026

By inAfrika Newsroom

The Tanzania Sisal Board is seeking more domestic processing as it pursues annual export earnings of US$209 million. Best Rukanda, the board’s marketing officer, described the plans in a 13 November interview with The Citizen. The board’s longer-term production target is 150,000 tonnes.

The newspaper reported annual production of about 62,000 tonnes, with roughly four-fifths exported. It cited board data putting manufactured products such as ropes, twine and carpets at about 2,295 tonnes, valued at US$5.09 million. The report did not specify a reference year for those figures.

Rukanda said the board was working with private investors on processing capacity and encouraging businesses to turn the fibre into goods such as sacks and baskets for packing produce. Those uses differ from selling fibre as a raw material, where the next stage of manufacturing takes place elsewhere.

On the supply side, he said the board was supporting planting in parts of Tabora Region, including Nzega, and assessing land near Morogoro and Iringa. It also wants farmers to consider growing sisal alongside horticultural crops, giving them another source of income from the same land.

Processing capacity has been a recurring issue in the sector. Daily News reported in November 2025 that ageing equipment remained a concern for farmers and that the board had begun work on a plant in Handeni District. The most recent account did not announce a new plant opening or confirm investment needed to meet the export target.

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