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CEPA worked together with the Wood Foundation to complete a comprehensive study of the competitiveness the tea sector in Tanzania.

How we did it

We first completed desk-based research of a range of sources to build up an initial picture of the sector e.g.– size, identifying the key private companies and government institutions, reviewing the main policies and regulations relevant to the sector. We then validated our findings by visiting Tanzania to complete consultations with tea industry experts including tea buyers, tea investors and other stakeholders to understand their perceptions of the key competitiveness issues facing the tea sector in Tanzania and also to determine how Tanzania’s tea sector compares to other countries in the region. 

In addition to consulting with the stakeholders we carried out a data gathering exercise; we obtained data from all the major tea companies so that we could analyse the financial performance of the tea sector – we also obtained data from countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Malawi. We used the evidence to complete a benchmarking exercise to identify specific areas where the performance of the tea sector in Tanzania lagged behind regional counterparts and determine the reasons for the poor performance. 

What we found

We brought together the analysis into a series of reports that provided an overview of the tea value-chain and also a short report that set out the key recommendations emerging from the study. The final reports were presented in Tanzania to key stakeholders, both government and private sector, operating in the sector.