Tanzania has imposed a sweeping ban on agricultural imports from South Africa and Malawi in a sharp escalation of a regional trade dispute that threatens to undermine the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Free Trade Area.
The ban, announced Wednesday by Agriculture Minister Hussein Bashe, targets all farm produce from the two countries and comes in response to what Tanzania claims are unfair trade restrictions imposed by its SADC neighbours.
“We are taking this step to protect our business interests. This is business – in business, we must all respect each other,” Bashe said.
The move follows years of trade friction. South Africa has long barred Tanzanian bananas while Malawi has blocked imports of Tanzanian flour, rice, ginger, bananas and maize.
Malawi’s latest restrictions, introduced in March, were framed as a temporary measure aimed at shielding local producers from foreign competition.
Bashe criticised the restrictions as “unfair and harmful,” adding that they had “directly affected” Tanzanian traders.
He defended the retaliatory ban, assuring citizens that food security would not be compromised.
“No Tanzanian will die from a lack of South African grapes or apples,” he said.
The ban is expected to disrupt trade flows in the region.
South African fruit exports to Tanzania – including apples and grapes – will be affected and landlocked Malawi may have to reroute key exports such as tobacco, sugar and soybeans.
The country relies heavily on Tanzania’s port of Dar es Salaam for access to global markets.
The fallout poses a significant challenge to the SADC Free Trade Area, which was established in 2008 to promote economic integration and eliminate trade barriers among southern African countries.
All three nations are members of the 16-country bloc, which has long touted regional trade as a path to shared prosperity.
Governments in Pretoria and Lilongwe have yet to respond to Tanzania’s latest move.
JN/APA