THE Italian Trade Agency (ITA) whose purpose is to promote foreign trade and Italy's exports, is working with the Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) in conducting a visit to Italy to unlock new markets for Tanzania’s high-value crops.

Dr Jacqueline Mkindi, the TAHA CEO, told a press conference here yesterday that the horticultural trade facility is deploying a powerhouse delegation of exporters to Italy in its painstaking efforts to widen market outlets.

This strategic initiative, in partnership with the official commercial liaison agency, will see TAHA members participate in a dynamic study tour during the prestigious Macfruit Exhibition, set for 4th to 9th May at a major exhibition centre in Rimini, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy.

“From visiting Italian leading horticultural importers to engaging in high-level B2B meetings, attending conferences and networking with global buyers at the Macfruit fair, these trailblazers are poised to showcase Tanzania’s finest produce and forge game-changing export deals,” she said.

The tour builds on a February training program, jointly organized by TAHA and ITA, which equipped Tanzanian entrepreneurs with the technical and managerial skills needed to compete in the EU, the CEO intimated, affirming that those trained are now the vanguard of this Italian venture.

Over two decades, TAHA has strategically been coordinating horticultural exporters to showcase Tanzania’s high-value crops at international trade fairs, the latest being Fruit Logistica 2025 in Germany, where multi-million dollar export deals were signed.

Tanzanian exporters signed export agreements for horticultural crops valued at $12.6m in total in the Fruit Logistica fair, with significant multiplier effects for employment and foreign exchange earnings, she elaborated.

The Italian market as the next target for local horticultural crops in TAHA’s bucket list, after China, India and Middle East, she said, highlighting that TAHA’s long term strategy is to ensure Tanzanian horticultural exports hook decisively into Italy’s annual $19bn vegetable import value.  

Tanzania’s horticultural exports to Italy is insignificant, as the United Nations Comtrade database on international trade indicates that the country exported edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers to Italy worth $45,500 in 2022.

In 2023, Italy imported $19.3bn of vegetable products, the seventh largest importer of vegetable products in the world, the UN database indicates.

Data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), shows that Italy imported vegetables primarily from Spain ($1.65bn), Netherlands ($1.59bn), France ($1.57bn), Brazil ($1.53bn) and Germany ($920m).