TANZANIA DEFENDS 35% IMPORT DUTY HIKE ON RICE IMPORTS

Tanzanian Minister for Finance, Ms Saada Salum Mkuya

A 35 per cent duty on rice imports into East African Community (EAC) will still keep out of reach cheap Asian exports and protect domestic producers.

Finance and Economic Affairs Minister, Saada Mkuya Salum said the decision to raise Common External Tariff (CET) from the current 25 per cent to 35 per cent was made by EAC Finance Ministers except Ugandan Minister who opposed the move. “35 per cent was a maximum rate agreed by all EAC members except Uganda.

This is because rice is a sensitive product as it can be produced locally,” Ms Salum pointed out. She argued that the ministers had simply endorsed what technocrats have been discussing for months.

“The whole process is consultative and involves stakeholders from all walks of life, different ministries and departments,” Ms Salum noted saying although Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives Minister, Eng Christopher Chiza said he has not been involved in the process, his technocrats have participated.

Disturbed my misinformation surrounding the rice imports into the region, Ms Salum stressed that her ministry is strongly opposed to such imports because they affect local industrial growth.

She said Uganda decided to go it alone by imposing a 75 per cent import duty because the country has a special programme to increase rice production backed by large scale investment.

When asked about local rice producers’ opposition to the proposed CET rate, the Finance Minister dismissed the claim.

“Local producers are not contesting the rate, we imposed a 25 per cent CET and no rice imports came in and now we have raised it to 35 per cent and we are sure that no imports will come in,” argued ms Salum who became only a second woman to head Treasury after Zakia Meghji did so between 2005/8.

But as Ms Salum defends the EAC Finance Ministers’ decision reached during their recent meeting in Nairobi, local rice producers are mobilizing to oppose the move.

The Rice Council of Tanzania (RCT) met in Dar es Salaam yesterday at which the EAC proposed CET featured high on the agenda. Sources from the meeting told ‘Daily News’ yesterday that stakeholders are so upset by the EAC Finance Ministers’ decision and plan to contest it.

“As RCT, we have agreed to write a protest letter to the EAC secretariat to contest the decision,” said a source at the meeting. Last week, Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives Minister, Christopher Chiza had already opposed the decision by his peers.

“I was not consulted on this issue which is detrimental to our farmers,” Engineer Chiza said promising to strongly oppose the attempt which seems to benefit Nairobi which has a bilateral agreement with Pakistan to import rice in exchange for its tea exports.

The RCT is a group of local and foreign business people who have invested heavily in production of rice under Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT).