Cocoa Export Tanzania: Buying at the TMX Auction, Clearing COPRA and TPHPA, and Meeting the EUDR

This guide answers the cocoa export Tanzania question from farm gate to ship. It covers the regulator and the 2026 regulations, the auction system in Kyela, Busokelo, Mlimba and Mvomero, every charge by register ID, the EU Deforestation Regulation, certification, official volumes and prices, Zanzibar, and a costed 25 tonne container.

Who should read this

• Cocoa exporters and traders that bid on the Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX) for Kyela, Busokelo, Mlimba or Mvomero lots.
• Foreign buyers and chocolate makers that want Tanzanian beans and need to know who may buy at the farm and who may not.
• EU importers that must file due diligence statements for cocoa under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
• Cooperative unions and AMCOS that sell through warehouse receipts and must hold traceability data.
• Investors looking at estates, fermentaries, dryers or bean-to-bar processing in Mbeya, Morogoro or Tanga.

New entrants to the sector should first read our guide on starting an agriculture business as a foreign investor.

What the law says

Cocoa has no crop board of its own. It is not under a coffee, cashew or tea style statute. It falls under the Food Security Act, Cap. 249 R.E. 2023, which the Cereals and Other Produce Regulatory Authority (COPRA) administers. The Act covers cereals and "other produce", meaning produce the Minister gazettes for regulation. COPRA's own cocoa value chain fact sheet names COPRA as the regulator of cocoa.

The regulations are the Food Security (Registration, Permits and Licensing) Regulations, 2026. The text reads Government Notice No. 258P, published 30 June 2026 and signed in Dodoma by the Minister for Agriculture. COPRA posted them on 22 September 2026 under a file name that says "GN 158P". Cite 258P from the text, and confirm the number in the Gazette.

Who regulates cocoa in Tanzania?

Five bodies touch every container, each with a different job.

The instrument that gazettes cocoa as "other produce" was not located this session. COPRA's legal documents page lists a General Notice in the Gazette of 15 March 2024 on the produce it regulates, but its crop list could not be read. GN 92 of 2026, the designation notice for food commodities, covers oils and grits, not cocoa. COPRA treats cocoa as regulated in practice, and the 2025 auction catalogue shows a COPRA charge per kilogram. Our COPRA registration guide covers the forms and the other produce COPRA regulates.

Can a foreign company buy cocoa from farmers?

Not at the farm. The Business Licensing (Prohibition of Business Activities for Non-Citizens) Order, GN 487A of 2025, closes "on-farm crop purchasing" to non-citizens (register NEW-08-14). Clyde & Co, writing on Afriwise in 2025, notes that the Order ties "non-citizen" to the Citizenship Act. It also notes that a licensing officer may treat a majority foreign-owned company as caught.

A foreign-owned exporter has two lawful routes in practice:

• Buy on the TMX auction. Lots sit in licensed warehouses under warehouse receipts. The buyer takes delivery ex-warehouse, not at the farm.
• Buy from a registered Tanzanian aggregator or cooperative under a written contract, with the cess and COPRA permits in the seller's or buyer's name as the contract sets.

Contract farming is a third route under the Food Security (Contract Farming) Regulations, 2026. Have an advocate review any outgrower contract against them and GN 487A.

How is cocoa sold: TMX auction or direct from cooperatives?

Most cocoa in the main districts now moves through cooperative unions into licensed warehouses. It is then sold on the TMX online platform. The Citizen (15 January 2026) reports cocoa among four Kyela crops in the warehouse receipt system under TMX. The Respondent (31 July 2026) lists cocoa among nine crops TMX auctioned in 2025/26.

Kyela Cooperative Union catalogue TMX/MBY/COCOA-172 offered 51,240 kg in 732 bags, in 49 warehouse receipt lots, on 17 February 2025.

No regulation found this session makes the auction compulsory for cocoa by law. It is the channel the cooperatives, councils and WRRB use. Confirm the current season's rules with the union before planning a direct purchase. Our guide to the warehouse receipt system explains receipts, depositors and release orders.

What registrations and permits does a cocoa exporter need?

Regulation 5 of GN 258P asks a trader for a business licence, TIN, incorporation papers and proof of fee payment. Regulation 10 adds a three-month bank statement and a declaration of purchase areas for the purchase permit. COPRA should decide a complete application within 14 days under regulation 18. An appeal lies to the Minister within 60 days under regulation 17.

See our guides to phytosanitary certificates and the COPRA export permit for food crops.

Is there an export tax on cocoa beans?

No. The Export Tax Act, Cap. 196 taxes only the goods in its Schedule. That list covers raw hides and skins, wet blue leather, scrap metal, sunflower seed and oil, veneer, waste paper, brans and cakes, and quartz and feldspar (F0332 to F0339). Cocoa is not on it. Raw cashew carries its own levy under a separate Act (F0340).

The TRA export procedures page states that exports are free of duty and taxes apart from the listed items. Our register records the position as no export tax on all other exports, with exports zero-rated for VAT (F0343). The railway development levy and customs processing fee apply to goods entered for home consumption (F0309, F0311), not to exports.

The council service levy is a separate charge. It runs at 0.25% of the exporter's turnover, net of VAT and excise, where the business is located (F0283). Our overview of export levies and charges for 2026 sets cocoa beside the taxed crops.

How does the produce cess work for cocoa?

The Local Government Finance Act, Cap. 290 lets a district council levy cess at source on agricultural produce. The Schedule caps crop cess on buyers at 3% of the farm-gate price. Councils may not charge more than 3%, may not tax sellers and may not charge a plying fee for one tonne or less moved between districts (F0547).

In the Kyela catalogue the cess is 3% of the market price. The buyer pays it to the council. COPRA's export permit then needs the electronic crop levy receipt under regulation 8(1)(d) of GN 258P, so an unpaid cess blocks the permit. Our produce cess guide covers the by-law base and the receipt.

How does the EU Deforestation Regulation affect Tanzanian cocoa?

The EUDR, Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, covers cocoa beans, shells, paste, butter, powder and chocolate. An EU operator may place cocoa on the EU market only if it is deforestation-free, legally produced and covered by a due diligence statement.

The Commission's report of 4 May 2026 states that the Regulation "will enter into application on 30 December 2026". EY (20 January 2026) confirms the 12-month postponement. The Commission's country classification list places Tanzania in the standard risk tier.

The duty sits on the EU operator, not on the Tanzanian exporter. In practice the buyer passes it back through the contract. A Tanzanian exporter selling to the EU should expect to supply:

• the geolocation of every farm plot behind each lot, held by the AMCOS or union;
• proof that the cocoa was produced lawfully, including COPRA, cess and TPHPA papers;
• lot segregation from the warehouse receipt to the container, so the plots can be traced;
• the date or period of production for each lot.

Smallholders grow 99% of Tanzanian cocoa on plots of one to three acres, per COPRA's fact sheet, so single GPS points cover most of them. The gap is data capture at AMCOS level. Asian buyers, who take most of the beans, are outside the EUDR.

Do organic and fine-flavour certificates matter?

They are voluntary and commercial. No Tanzanian statute requires them for export. They can raise the price a buyer pays.

• Organic. COPRA's fact sheet describes most farms as largely organic and intercropped with banana. Being organic in practice is not certification. Sale as organic into the EU needs certification under the EU organic rules by a recognised control body, with group certification for smallholders.
• Fine or flavour. The International Cocoa Organization's panel lists fine or flavour origins. Its published pages reviewed this session do not name Tanzania. Treat any claim of official fine-flavour status as unconfirmed, and sell on cupping results and buyer specifications instead.

What do the official volume and price figures show?

The Ministry of Agriculture's Weekly Market Bulletin for 4 to 8 May 2026 reports COPRA data for the 2025/26 season. Sales reached 11,043,980 kg worth about TZS 132.33 billion.

Mbeya supplied about 86% of the volume. The Guardian (15 June 2026) reports TMX cocoa sales of 11,179 tonnes worth TZS 138.93 billion for 2025/26. That is close to the Ministry figure and may reflect a later cut-off.

The wide price range spans a season in which world prices fell. COPRA's fact sheet records 2023 exports of 12,162 tonnes worth USD 39.0 million. The main buyers were Indonesia, Malaysia and the Netherlands. It puts annual output at 14,000 to 16,000 tonnes, and stakeholders target 80,000 tonnes by 2030.

How does Zanzibar fit in?

Zanzibar is not a cocoa producing area in COPRA's data, and the Food Security Act is Mainland law. Agriculture is not a Union matter. A cocoa export from Kyela or Morogoro is a Mainland export, cleared through Dar es Salaam port under the TPA tariff.

Two points matter if cargo touches the islands:

• Tax administration. The Zanzibar Revenue Authority Act, No. 11 of 2022 set up ZRA in place of the Zanzibar Revenue Board. ZRA collects Zanzibar VAT at 15% (F0246) and a seaport service charge. Customs remains with TRA.
• Shipping via Zanzibar. TPA charges Zanzibar-bound deep-sea containers USD 90 (20 ft) or USD 180 (40 ft) in wharfage (NEW-03-15). Routing Mainland cocoa through Zanzibar adds handling and ZRA charges. ZRA assesses its seaport service charge on filing.

Worked example: a 25 t container of Kyela cocoa

A hypothetical Tanzanian-owned exporter, Mbeya Cocoa Traders Ltd, buys 25,000 kg of Kyela beans on TMX. That is about 357 bags of 70 kg. Bagged beans of that weight normally ship in a 40 ft container. We use the 2025/26 Kyela average of TZS 10,929 per kg from the Ministry bulletin as the price. The buyer is in the Netherlands.

Purchase. 25,000 kg at TZS 10,929 is TZS 273,225,000, paid through TMX within 48 working hours. The catalogue's operating charges of TZS 348.50 per kg come to TZS 8,712,500. Check in the current catalogue whether they are added to the bid or deducted from the farmers' price.

Government charges in TZS, per consignment.

Annual items sit outside this subtotal. They are the business licence of TZS 100,000 (F0865), COPRA registration and the purchase permit (F0775), and the 0.25% service levy on turnover (F0283). Fumigation supervision adds at least TZS 380,000 if the buyer asks for fumigation (F0769).

Port and agency charges in USD, 40 ft container.

The fixed USD items total USD 487.38 before storage and wharfage. Wharfage depends on the declared value. On a hypothetical customs value of USD 150,000 it would be USD 2,400 at 1.6%. Our register prints 1.0% for conventional domestic exports (NEW-03-12), so ask TPA which rate it applies to an export container. The TZS and USD totals stay separate; we do not convert one into the other.

EUDR file. Because the buyer is in the EU and the cocoa lands after 30 December 2026, the exporter attaches plot GPS points for the 49 or so AMCOS lots, with the lot-to-container map. Without it, the Dutch operator cannot file its due diligence statement.

What to do now

1. Check who may buy. Confirm whether GN 487A of 2025 reaches your company, and buy through TMX or a registered aggregator if it does.
2. Register with COPRA. File the trader registration and dealer licence under GN 258P, and confirm the 30 tonne or TZS 50 million threshold.
3. Get the business licence. Take the Class A export licence for agriculture goods on TNBP before the first sale.
4. Open a TMX account. Obtain bidding credentials from the union or TMX and fund the advance deposit before the session.
5. Pay the cess and keep the receipt. Pay the council's 3% at source and keep the electronic receipt for the COPRA permit.
6. Book TPHPA early. Request inspection at the warehouse or terminal and check the buyer's fumigation terms.
7. Build the EUDR file. Collect plot GPS points, AMCOS lists and lot records before you bid on lots meant for the EU.
8. Price the port. Ask TPA for the wharfage rate and book the clearing agent at no less than the TASAC floor.

Key dates and deadlines

How Zatra helps

Zatra's import and export compliance service prepares the COPRA registration and permits, the business licence, the TPHPA booking and the EUDR data file for cocoa exporters. Our agriculture and trade desk also maps the auction calendar and builds the cost sheet per container. For a similar oilseed chain, see our sesame export guide.

Costs come in two separate buckets. Government fees are paid at the official rate to COPRA, the council, TPHPA, TRA or TPA, against a GePG control number. Zatra's professional fee is quoted on its own line and never mixed with them.

COPRA, TPHPA, the council and TRA decide every application. Zatra prepares and coordinates, but does not decide or guarantee any authority's outcome. Disputes over GN 487A, contract terms with buyers, prosecutions and legal opinions go to an advocate.

Sources and status

Accurate as at 31 October 2026.

• Food Security Act, Cap. 249 R.E. 2023: COPRA, posted 20 Jul 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Food Security (Registration, Permits and Licensing) Regulations, 2026, GN 258P: COPRA, 30 Jun 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Cocoa value chain fact sheet: COPRA, 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Weekly Market Bulletin, 4 to 8 May 2026: Ministry of Agriculture, May 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Plant Health Act, 2020: TanzLII, version 19 Jun 2020. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Export Tax Act, Cap. 196: TanzLII, 2002 text. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Export procedures: Tanzania Revenue Authority, 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Local Government Finance Act, Cap. 290 R.E. 2019: Ministry of Finance, 2019. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Cocoa sales catalogue TMX/MBY/COCOA-172: Kyela Cooperative Union, 17 Feb 2025. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Report on the EUDR, COM(2026) 191: European Commission, 4 May 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• EUDR country classification list: European Commission, 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• EUDR application postponed to 30 December 2026: EY, 20 Jan 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Practical implications of the Non-Citizens Order of 2025: Clyde & Co via Afriwise, 2025. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• TMX sales report: The Guardian, 15 Jun 2026; WRRB season results: The Respondent, 31 Jul 2026; Kyela crops in the receipt system: The Citizen, 15 Jan 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Zanzibar Revenue Authority Act, No. 11 of 2022: Zanzibar Revenue Authority, 2022. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.
• Zatra fee register, fees at 26 Sep 2026; line IDs as cited in the text, Zatra, 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.

Figures to confirm before you act

• GN number: the 2026 registration regulations read GN 258P in the text and GN 158P in COPRA's file name
• Cocoa as other produce: the Gazette instrument that brings cocoa under Cap. 249 was not read this session
• COPRA fees: registration, purchase permit and export permit amounts are not yet in our register (F0775)
• Auction rules: whether a legal instrument or only council and union practice requires cocoa to go through TMX
• Catalogue charges: the 2026/27 operating charges and whether they fall on the buyer or the farmer
• Wharfage: whether TPA applies 1.6% or 1.0% to a domestic export container
• GN 487A: how licensing officers treat foreign-owned companies under "on-farm crop purchasing"
• EUDR: any further EU amendment before 30 December 2026, and the current Information System guidance
• Zanzibar: the ZRA seaport service charge on cargo routed through the islands

This article is general information based on official sources available at the date of publication. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws and notices change. Verify with the issuing authority or consult Zatra before acting.