COPRA Registration Tanzania: Licences, Permits and Export Steps for Cereals, Pulses and Sesame

The detailed rules now sit in the Food Security (Registration, Permits and Licensing) Regulations, 2026, published on 30 June 2026. Applications run through the COPRA MIS portal. Sesame and most pulses are sold through warehouse receipts and Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX) auctions, which add their own per-kilogram charges and a 3% cess.

What does COPRA regulate?

The Cereals and Other Produce Regulatory Authority (COPRA) is the Mainland regulator for crops that do not have their own crop board. Coffee, cashew, cotton, tea, tobacco, sugar and sisal keep their boards, which we cover in our guide to Tanzania's crop boards. Almost everything else in the food and oilseed chain falls to COPRA.

The Act defines cereals as edible grains such as maize, oat, wheat, rice, millet and sorghum. "Other produce" means agricultural produce that the Minister gazettes for regulation under the Act. The fee schedule of the 2026 Regulations speaks of cereals, pulses, oil seeds and nuts, horticulture, and root crops and tubers. COPRA's own crop calendar for 2024/25 names, among others, ngano (wheat), shayiri (barley), ufuta (sesame), mbaazi (pigeon peas), choroko (green grams), karanga (groundnuts), iliki (cardamom), pilipili manga (black pepper), karafuu (cloves), mdalasini (cinnamon), kakao (cocoa) and parachichi (avocado).

In April 2026 the Minister also designated processed food commodities for COPRA to regulate. The Food Security (Designation of Food Commodities) Notice, 2026 (GN No. 92, published 3 April 2026) lists crude and refined oils from sunflower, sesame, groundnuts, soybean, palm, coconut and several tree nuts, plus soy, Bambara and maize grits. So a sunflower or sesame oil processor now answers to COPRA for the oil as well as the seed.

What the law says: from Act No. 19 of 2009 to Cap. 249

COPRA was created by the Cereals and Other Produce Act, No. 19 of 2009. The consolidated text that COPRA itself publishes today is the Food Security Act, Cap. 249 R.E. 2023. Its header lists Acts Nos. 10 of 1991, 19 of 2009 and 7 of 2023 as sources. The provisions that establish COPRA and its licensing powers now sit in that chapter.

The sections that matter to a business are these:

• Section 4: COPRA's functions, including registering growers and dealers, licensing marketing and processing, and issuing import and export permits. Under section 4(4) COPRA must seek the Minister's approval before issuing permits for wheat, barley and grape concentrate.
• Section 14: any person dealing in cereals and other produce as a trader, processor, or warehouse owner or operator must apply for registration.
• Section 15: processors are registered through their district authorities, under procedures set by regulations.
• Section 19(4): no person may buy, process, sell, operate a warehouse, import or export cereals or other produce on a commercial basis without a COPRA licence.
• Section 32: the Minister may designate crops and food commodities by Gazette notice.
• Section 42: the Minister may make regulations, including on fees.

The detailed procedure is in the Food Security (Registration, Permits and Licensing) Regulations, 2026, signed in Dodoma on 30 June 2026 by the Minister for Agriculture. COPRA posted them on its legal documents page on 22 September 2026. COPRA's file name gives the notice as GN No. 158P, while the text we read shows 258P. Confirm the number in the Gazette before quoting it in a contract or appeal.

Other 2026 instruments sit alongside them: Quality Control of Cereals and Other Produce Regulations, Administration of Edible Oil Regulations, Contract Farming Regulations and Avocado Crop Management Regulations. On 27 August 2026 Parliament also passed amendments to Cap. 249 that move the Tanzania Pyrethrum Board's functions to COPRA, as reported by the Daily News. Check the date of assent before treating pyrethrum as a COPRA crop.

Who is affected by COPRA registration?

• Traders and aggregators who buy maize, rice, pulses, sesame, sunflower or groundnuts for resale, whether at farm gate, in markets or through TMX auctions.
• Exporters of cereals, pulses, oilseeds and spices, who need a permit for every consignment.
• Importers of grain and pulses, who need an import permit and a phytosanitary certificate.
• Processors such as millers, sunflower and sesame oil pressers, and grits makers.
• Warehouse owners and operators storing more than five tonnes of produce.
• Medium and large producers, who now register as producers under regulation 4.
• Foreign investors entering the grain or oilseed trade, who face a higher trader registration fee and the citizen-only rule for on-farm crop purchasing.

Small-scale producers register free of charge. Under regulation 5, a trader may apply for registration where it holds a valid business licence and trades at least 30 tonnes a year, or turns over at least TZS 50 million a year.

Which activities need COPRA registration, a licence or a permit?

The table maps each activity to the approval and the authority that issues it. COPRA approvals come from the Act and the 2026 Regulations; the other rows come from the laws named.

How do you apply for COPRA registration online?

COPRA's services run through the COPRA MIS portal, linked from the COPRA website. The site lists dealer registration (buyers, sellers, processors, importers, exporters and transporters), farmer registration, premises registration and licensing. It also links import and export permits to the Tanzania Electronic Single Window System run with TRA.

A trader's application under regulation 5 uses Form No. 3 and attaches:

• the company's registration documents from BRELA, or identification for an individual;
• a valid business licence;
• the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) certificate;
• proof that the application fee has been paid against a government control number.

Under regulation 18, COPRA must decide a complete application within fourteen days. A refusal must be communicated within seven days of the decision. Section 21(2) of the Act lets an aggrieved person appeal to the Minister within sixty days of a cancellation or suspension. Registration, licences and permits cannot be transferred (regulation 14).

A purchase permit under regulation 10 needs the registration certificate, the business licence, a three-month bank statement and a declaration of the areas where the dealer will buy. Every permit is valid for the period it states, never more than one year (regulation 12).

What does COPRA registration cost?

COPRA publishes its fees in the Second Schedule to the 2026 Regulations. Those amounts are not yet in Zatra's government fee register, so we list them under Figures to confirm at the end of this guide. The other government charges a trader or exporter meets are in the register, with the IDs below. The amount on the authority's control number governs on the day of payment.

Government charges are paid to each authority at the official rate against its GePG control number. They are separate from any professional fee, and Zatra never marks them up. For the full schedule see our government fees handbook, and for every export charge by crop see Tanzania export levies and charges 2026.

What documents do you need to export sesame, pulses or grain?

Regulation 8(1) lists what COPRA wants with an export permit application. TRA and TPHPA add their own documents at the border. The checklist below combines them.

TRA's export procedures page says the exporter must appoint a licensed clearing and forwarding agent and that documentation is done online before examination and release. Our guides to export permits and documentation and to phytosanitary certificates cover those steps in more depth.

How do TPHPA phytosanitary certificates link to COPRA permits?

COPRA decides whether the trade may happen. The Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticides Authority (TPHPA) certifies that the goods are free of pests. TPHPA was set up under the Plant Health Act No. 4 of 2020. Its site points exporters to the digital phytosanitary certificate on the e-Kilimo portal.

The two run in sequence. A buyer abroad will not release payment without the phytosanitary certificate. COPRA, for its part, asks for a phytosanitary certificate with an import permit under regulation 9. Plan the TPHPA inspection for the date the goods are packed and ready, since inspection fees are charged per consignment by weight.

How do TMX auctions and warehouse receipts work for sesame?

Sesame, pigeon peas, chickpeas, green grams, soybeans and Bambara nuts are sold through the warehouse receipt system and digital auctions on the Tanzania Mercantile Exchange. Farmers deliver to licensed warehouses run under the Warehouse Receipts Regulatory Board (WRRB). The receipts are then auctioned on TMX. Our guide to the warehouse receipt system explains the receipt itself.

The TMX Commodity Trading Procedure for 2026/27, dated 12 February 2026, sets the buyer's side. A buyer must:

• comply with the Cereals and Other Produce law, the Cooperative Societies Act, the Warehouse Receipts Act Cap. 339 and the Commodity Exchange Act;
• submit a Buyer's Declaration Form online and register with COPRA;
• deposit a refundable security bond: TZS 5 million for 1 to 30 tonnes, TZS 30 million for 30 to 50 tonnes, and TZS 100 million above 51 tonnes;
• pay the invoice within 72 working hours, or face a 5% penalty on the unpaid amount and re-auction of the lot.

TMX says other charges "will be paid by the buyer on top of winning price per kilogram". For sesame the table totals TZS 242 per kg plus 3% cess, in standard regions. The lines are cooperative administration 100, warehouse operator 37.5, inspection 1.5, warehouse guarantee fund 4, transport 40, trading administration 5, regional administration 2, district administration 2, bags 20 and crop development 30. Other pulses total TZS 202 per kg, and regions using aggregators TZS 147 per kg, each plus 3% cess.

How much produce cess do councils charge?

District councils collect produce cess under section 7(1)(g) of the Local Government Finance Act, Cap. 290. The cess is payable at source on produce grown in the council's area. The Schedule caps crop cess on buyers at 3% of the farm-gate price for both cash crops and food crops (register F0547).

The same Schedule bars councils from charging cess above 3%, cess on sellers, cess on seeds, or a plying fee for moving not more than one tonne of crops between districts (NEW-05-27). Major export crops carry a separate range of zero to five percent of the farm-gate price. In an auction the 3% is collected through the TMX invoice. The electronic receipt then becomes a required attachment to the COPRA export permit. Keep it with the consignment file.

Worked example: buying 500 tonnes of sesame at auction and exporting it

A Dar es Salaam company holds COPRA trader registration, a purchase permit and a Class A export licence. It buys 500 tonnes (500,000 kg) of sesame at TMX auctions in the 2026/27 season. It then ships the lot to Asia in one consignment of 25 twenty-foot containers.

For the price we use TZS 2,477 per kg. That is the average reported by The Respondents for the opening Tunduru auction on 22 May 2026. It is illustrative only. Prices move each auction, and the Songwe opening on 8 May 2026 cleared 1,923 tonnes, according to The Citizen.

The TZS charges on top of the produce come to TZS 164,897,000, or about TZS 330 per kg. That adds roughly 13% to the auction price before freight, finance and the clearing agent's own fee. The security deposit ties up TZS 100 million of working capital until TMX refunds it.

Three cautions apply. First, if the lot ships as several consignments, the phytosanitary certificate and the TPHPA inspection base charge repeat for each one. Second, the WRRB administration fee for buyers (NEW-07-15, TZS 0.50 per kg) may already be inside the TMX lines; ask TMX before adding it. Third, VAT does not apply to the export itself, which is zero-rated (F0343).

Mainland and Zanzibar: who regulates produce in Zanzibar?

COPRA is a Mainland regulator in practice. Its headquarters is in Dodoma, its published contacts list no Zanzibar office, and Cap. 249 contains no provision extending it to Zanzibar. Agriculture in Zanzibar is handled by the Revolutionary Government's Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, Natural Resources and Livestock. In June 2026 that ministry led a plant health systems project, as reported by allAfrica.

The USDA Zanzibar Exporter Guide of June 2025 lists the Zanzibar Food and Drugs Agency, the Zanzibar Bureau of Standards and the Zanzibar agriculture ministry as the island regulators. Business licensing and revenue for non-Union matters are also separate; see our notes on Union and non-Union taxes and on ZFDA in Zanzibar.

Customs is a Union matter, so TRA clears exports from both sides through TANCIS. A Zanzibar exporter of cloves or spices should confirm the island permit route with the Zanzibar ministry before shipping. A Mainland trader shipping produce across to Zanzibar should ask COPRA which transport or export permit covers that leg.

What are the penalties for trading without a COPRA licence?

Section 22 of Cap. 249 makes it an offence to buy, import, export or process produce commercially without a COPRA licence. The fine is TZS 2 million to TZS 5 million, or imprisonment of one to two years. Section 19(5) carries a parallel penalty with a prison term of up to three years. The general penalty in section 37 is a fine of at least TZS 5 million, or at least TZS 10 million for a body corporate.

COPRA may also suspend or cancel a licence or permit under regulation 15. Moving produce within the country needs a transport permit under regulation 11. Where goods are seized, a licence is cancelled or a prosecution starts, instruct an advocate promptly. Appeals to the Minister run on the sixty-day clock in section 21(2).

What to do now

1. Map your activities. List what you do: buying, storing, processing, importing or exporting. Use the table above to find each approval.
2. Check citizenship rules. On-farm crop purchasing is closed to non-citizens under GN 487A of 2025 (register NEW-08-14). Foreign-owned buyers should plan to buy through auctions or licensed aggregators, and take advice first.
3. Prepare the company file. Gather BRELA documents, the TIN certificate, a current business licence and three months of bank statements.
4. Register on the COPRA MIS portal. Apply as a trader, processor or warehouse owner and pay the fee against the control number.
5. Apply for the purchase permit. Do this before the harvest season opens, declaring the regions where you will buy.
6. Register as a TMX buyer. File the Buyer's Declaration Form and fund the security deposit for your planned volume.
7. Budget the per-kilogram charges. Add the TMX charges and 3% cess to the bid price before you bid.
8. Book TPHPA inspection and file for the export permit. Attach the cess receipt and the sales contract, and apply for one permit per consignment.
9. Keep the audit trail. File invoices, cess receipts, permits and the phytosanitary certificate per consignment for TRA and COPRA checks.

Key dates and deadlines

• 2009: Cereals and Other Produce Act, No. 19 of 2009, creates COPRA.
• 2023: Food Security Act, Cap. 249 R.E. 2023, carries the COPRA provisions, citing Act No. 7 of 2023.
• 12 February 2026: TMX issues the 2026/27 trading procedure.
• 3 April 2026: GN No. 92 designates edible oils and grits for COPRA regulation.
• 8 and 22 May 2026: opening sesame auctions of the 2026/27 season in Songwe and Tunduru.
• 30 June 2026: Registration, Permits and Licensing Regulations, 2026 published.
• 27 August 2026: Parliament passes amendments moving pyrethrum functions to COPRA.
• Every application: COPRA decides within 14 days of a complete file (reg. 18).
• Every permit: valid for the period stated, never more than one year (reg. 12).
• Every TMX purchase: pay within 72 working hours of the invoice.

How Zatra helps

Zatra's import and export compliance team registers traders and processors with COPRA, obtains the Class A export licence through business licensing, and assembles the export permit and phytosanitary file for each consignment. For other sector approvals see sector business permits, and for the wider market see our agriculture and trade hub.

Government fees are paid to COPRA, TPHPA, BRELA, councils and TRA at the official rate against their control numbers. They are never marked up, and Zatra's professional fee is quoted separately on our pricing page. COPRA decides every registration and permit. Zatra does not decide or guarantee any authority's outcome.

Sources and status

Accurate as at 6 October 2026.

• The Food Security Act, Cap. 249 R.E. 2023: Office of the Attorney General, published by COPRA 20 Jul 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Food Security (Registration, Permits and Licensing) Regulations, 2026: Ministry of Agriculture, 30 Jun 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Food Security (Designation of Food Commodities) Notice, 2026, GN No. 92: Ministry of Agriculture, 3 Apr 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• COPRA legal documents: COPRA, updated 22 Sep 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• COPRA website and services: COPRA, 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• COPRA MIS portal: COPRA, 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• TMX Commodity Trading Procedure 2026/2027: Tanzania Mercantile Exchange PLC, 12 Feb 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Local Government Finance Act, Cap. 290: Ministry of Finance, posted 2023. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticides Authority: TPHPA, 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Warehouse Receipts Regulatory Board: WRRB, 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Export procedures: Tanzania Revenue Authority, 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• OCPD commended as Bunge passes agri-law amendments: Daily News, 27 Aug 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Tunduru sesame farmers earn TZS 2.46 billion in first auction: The Respondents, 22 May 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Strong start for Songwe sesame farmers as sales hit Sh3 billion: The Citizen, May 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Strephit project strengthens plant health systems in Zanzibar: allAfrica, 29 Jun 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Zanzibar Exporter Guide: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, 27 Jun 2025. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.

Figures to confirm before you act

• COPRA fees, Second Schedule to the 2026 Regulations, not yet in the Zatra register: trader registration TZS 10,000 (citizen) or TZS 150,000 (non-citizen); medium producer TZS 10,000; large producer TZS 20,000; warehouse owner registration TZS 10,000; warehouse licence TZS 10,000; purchase permit TZS 150,000 a year; register extract TZS 10,000. Confirm against COPRA's control number
• GN number of the 2026 Regulations: 158P on COPRA's file name, 258P in the text we read; confirm in the Gazette
• Export permit fee: no amount appears in the Second Schedule we read; COPRA assesses or publishes it
• Cess base in an auction: Cap. 290 caps cess at 3% of the farm-gate price; TMX adds 3% on the invoice; confirm the base with the council and TMX
• TMX charges of TZS 242 per kg for sesame: TMX procedure of 12 February 2026; confirm for the auction you join
• Sesame price TZS 2,477 per kg: press report of one auction on 22 May 2026; illustrative only
• EAC certificate of origin, F0341: register status Confirm; check with TCCIA
• Pyrethrum transfer to COPRA: passed by Parliament on 27 August 2026; confirm assent and commencement
• Zanzibar permit route for spices and cloves: confirm with the Zanzibar Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, Natural Resources and Livestock

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.