Horticulture Export Tanzania: Permits, Fees and EU Rules

A horticulture export from Tanzania passes four sets of hands before it leaves the ground. The plant health authority inspects and certifies it. A crop regulator may issue a permit. The licensing office and the customs system record the trade. The buyer's market then applies its own residue and pest rules on arrival. This guide sets out each step in order for fresh fruit, vegetables, cut flowers and herbs.

It is written for growers, packers and traders who ship fresh produce by air from Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) or Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA). Crop-specific detail sits in our guides to avocado exports and phytosanitary certificates. Our agriculture and trade hub collects the related permits.

What the law says

Plant health on the Mainland is governed by the Plant Health Act, 2020 (Act No. 4 of 2020, now Cap. 133). It created the Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticides Authority (TPHPA), which acts as the national plant protection organisation. Section 2 applies the Act to Mainland Tanzania.

• Section 30 covers exports. Where the importing country requires a phytosanitary certificate, the exporter applies to the Authority, presents the consignment for inspection and pays the fee. The Authority inspects and issues the certificate, or denies it where the destination's conditions are not met.
• Section 35 allows inspection at the exporter's own facility if the Authority has approved or certified that facility.
• Section 59 makes it an offence to export plants or plant products otherwise than in accordance with the Act. A body corporate faces a fine of not less than TZS 10 million and not more than TZS 500 million. The court may also order forfeiture.
• Section 63 gives any person aggrieved by a decision of the Authority an appeal to the Minister within thirty days of receiving it.

The detail sits in the Plant Health Regulations, 2023 (GN 284 of 2023). Regulation 81 sets the application and its documents. Regulation 83 sets the certificate's validity. Regulation 85 covers inspection at the point of exit or at the exporter's premises. The fees were replaced by the Plant Health (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 (GN 929 of 2024).

Avocados now carry their own instrument. The Food Security (Avocado Crop Management) Regulations, 2026 (GN 87 of 2026) are made under the Food Security Act, Cap. 249. They require an export permit, registered pack houses and a minimum dry matter of 21 percent.

Who should read this?

Anyone who ships fresh plant produce out of Tanzania for sale. That includes farm owners with their own pack house, aggregators buying from smallholders, foreign buyers sourcing through local agents, and freight forwarders who assemble the documents. It covers avocados, French beans, snow peas, chillies, passion fruit, cut roses, summer flowers and fresh herbs.

The rules differ on the two sides of the Union. Customs is a Union matter. Plant health, crop regulation and licensing are not.

Which regulators sign off a horticulture export, and in what order?

Each step relies on a document from the one before. A missing licence stops the COPRA form; a missing invoice stops the phytosanitary application.

The national trade portal lists these procedures by product. Its export search page shows the phytosanitary certificate, COPRA registration, the Registered Exporter (REX) system and step-by-step avocado routes through JNIA and Namanga.

Does TPHPA register horticulture exporters?

Not as a general rule. The Plant Health Act has no stand-alone register of plant exporters or growers. Its registration provisions deal with pesticides, pesticide premises and pesticide dealers. What the Act offers instead is facility approval under section 35, which lets TPHPA inspect at an approved pack house rather than at the airport.

Registration does arise in two other ways. First, some destination markets ask TPHPA to list approved farms and pack houses. In February 2026 the government reported that 408 Tanzanian companies had been registered in the system of China's customs authority, according to The Citizen. Second, GN 87 of 2026 requires every avocado pack house to be registered before it operates.

Ask TPHPA and the buyer which listing the destination expects before the first harvest is booked.

How do you get a phytosanitary certificate for fresh produce?

Apply to TPHPA on the prescribed form. Regulation 81(2) of GN 284 lists the supporting documents:

• the import permit from the importing country, where it issues one;
• the commercial invoice;
• the customs assessment report;
• proof of treatment where the destination requires treatment;
• any other document the Authority asks for.

An inspector then examines the documents and the consignment, or a representative sample. Regulation 83 allows the certificate once the produce is "practically free of pests" and meets the importing country's current requirements. The exporter must provide labour and facilities for opening, sampling and resealing under regulation 85.

Timing is the trap. Regulation 83(3) makes the certificate valid for seven days before export for perishable consignments, against twenty-eight days for non-perishables. If a flight is cancelled and the cargo waits a week, the certificate lapses. Book inspection close to the flight. Our phytosanitary certificate guide covers import permits and re-export certificates.

If a destination reports non-compliance, regulation 82 requires TPHPA to notify the exporter in writing within forty-eight hours. It may restrict further exports until corrective action is complete, at the exporter's cost.

Do you need a COPRA or Ministry of Agriculture export permit?

It depends on the crop. Three positions apply.

• Avocados. Yes. Regulation 15 of GN 87 of 2026 requires a permit before export. The application on Form No. 1 asks for proof of fee payment, a COPRA registration number, a business licence and an invoice. The permit issues on Form No. 2. Exporters must also meet the importing country's quality and phytosanitary standards and comply with the Plant Health Act.
• Other fresh produce. The trade portal describes the COPRA food crop export permit as applying to food crops "except perishables". Fresh French beans, herbs and flowers are therefore outside it on the portal's reading. Confirm with COPRA for any crop on the margin, such as dried chillies or pulses sold green.
• Grains and pulses. These need the COPRA permit per consignment. See our food crop export permit guide.

The avocado rules also reach the farm gate. Farmers may not harvest until the Authority declares the season open under regulation 36. Buyers need a purchaser permit, must use approved harvesters, and must pay at least the declared minimum price under regulation 22. Foreign buyers must hold a foreign currency account in a Tanzanian bank and buy at a collection or packing centre, or through a registered agent.

GN 87 states no fee amounts; Form No. 1 refers only to "the applicable fee". The Zatra fee register line F0775 records COPRA permit fees as not verified. Treat the COPRA charge as unknown until COPRA confirms it in writing. Our COPRA registration guide sets out the stakeholder registration.

Which business licence does a horticulture exporter need?

A trading exporter needs a Class A business licence for exportation under the Business Licensing Act, Cap. 101, issued through BRELA's TNBP portal. The Schedule, Part A item 21, sets TZS 100,000 or TZS 80,000 for agriculture goods, depending on the column that applies (register F0865). The licence is annual, not per consignment.

There is a carve-out for growers. Section 3 of Cap. 101 takes farming, market gardening and the sale of a farmer's own produce that has not been materially processed outside the Act (register NEW-08-16). A farm that exports only what it grows may fall within that carve-out. A trader who buys from others does not. The avocado export form asks for a business licence regardless, so most exporters hold one. Our business licensing service handles the application.

How does the customs export entry work?

Every export is declared to TRA through the Tanzania Customs Integrated System (TANCIS), which serves both Mainland and Zanzibar. The TRA export procedures page requires the exporter to appoint a licensed clearing and forwarding agent. The agent uploads the invoice, packing list, TIN certificate, an authorisation letter and the permits of other government departments, including crop certificates.

TRA assesses any duties, supervises the cargo and approves the loading. Our guide to clearing agent licensing explains who may lodge it.

Is there an export tax or VAT on fresh produce?

No export tax applies to fresh horticultural produce. The Export Tax Act, Cap. 196 taxes only the goods in its Schedule, such as raw hides and skins, scrap metal, sunflower seed and crude sunflower oil. Outside that Schedule and the cashew levy, exports carry no export tax (register F0343). The TRA export page lists the same short set of taxed exports.

Exported goods are zero-rated for VAT under section 55 of the VAT Act, Cap. 148 (R.E. 2023 numbering). A VAT-registered exporter charges 0 percent and can claim input tax on packaging and cold storage. Keep the TANCIS export entry and the airway bill. They are the evidence TRA expects for the zero rate. Our article on export levies and charges covers the full list.

A local charge can still arise before export. District councils may levy produce cess on the buyer, capped at 3 percent of the farm-gate price under the Local Government Finance Act, Cap. 290 (register F0547). See our produce cess guide.

What EU market rules apply: residues, plant health and GlobalG.A.P.?

Europe is the largest regional market for Tanzanian avocados. Exporters to the EU face three separate tests, and only two are law.

Pesticide residues. Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 sets maximum residue levels (MRLs) for food sold in the EU, imports included. Where no specific MRL exists for a substance, a default of 0.01 mg/kg applies, as the EU-funded AGRINFO briefing explains. Residues are tested at the border on a risk basis, and repeated failures can trigger increased checks. Spray only products TPHPA has registered, and check each one against the EU limit for the crop. Our pesticide registration guide covers the Tanzanian side.

Plant health. The European Commission requires a phytosanitary certificate for listed plants and plant products under Regulation (EU) 2019/2072. Only five fruits are exempt: pineapples, coconuts, durians, bananas and dates. Some crops need extra wording on the certificate. The Dutch authority's additional declarations list shows false codling moth and fall armyworm options for chillies and sweet peppers (Capsicum).

GlobalG.A.P. This is a private farm assurance standard. No Tanzanian or EU law requires it. European retailers and importers write it into supply contracts, and buyers "increasingly apply similar expectations" to domestic and imported suppliers, as FreshPlaza reported in July 2026. Budget for it as a commercial cost, paid to a private certification body, not as a government fee.

Cold chain and air freight from JNIA and KIA

Most fresh beans, herbs and flowers fly. Avocados move by both air and sea. Northern growers around Arusha and Kilimanjaro use KIA. Southern Highlands avocados and Dar es Salaam consolidations use JNIA. The trade portal publishes separate avocado procedures for JNIA, the port of Dar es Salaam and the Namanga border post.

KIA's capacity grew in 2026. Swissport opened a 630 square metre temperature-controlled cargo facility there, with chillers from 2°C to 25°C and frozen storage, according to AviationPros on 12 August 2026. It handles flowers, fresh produce and other perishable cargo.

Cold chain is a commercial matter, not a permit, but it decides whether the paperwork holds. Agree the handling agent, cold room and flight cut-off before TPHPA inspection is booked.

The horticulture industry body: TAHA

The Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) is the private sector body for growers and exporters. It is a membership association, not a regulator, and issues no permit. TAHA's chief executive, Dr Jacqueline Mkindi, said after Fruit Logistica 2025 that its delegation had secured export contracts worth USD 12.6 million, as reported by The Guardian in June 2025.

COPRA reported avocado exports of about 52,000 tonnes worth USD 97.2 million in the 2025/2026 season, according to TanzaniaInvest on 3 November 2026. The same report attributes the market split to TAHA: about 40 percent to Europe, 30 percent to India and 19 percent to the Middle East.

Exporting fresh produce from Zanzibar

The Plant Health Act applies to Mainland Tanzania only. A TPHPA certificate is therefore the Mainland route. Produce grown and packed in Unguja or Pemba falls under Zanzibar's own agriculture administration. We could not confirm from a primary source this session which Zanzibar office issues export phytosanitary certificates, or under which Zanzibar statute. Treat that as unknown and confirm with the Zanzibar ministry responsible for agriculture before the first shipment.

One common assumption is wrong. ZAFIRI is the Zanzibar Fisheries and Marine Resources Research Institute, a marine research body, as the Daily News reported in July 2025. It works on fish and seaweed, not on plant health certification for fruit or flowers.

The national trade portal does list Zanzibar procedures, including a health certificate for export in Pemba and Unguja and the clearance of fruits through Abeid Amani Karume International Airport. Customs runs through TANCIS on both sides. The business licence and VAT treatment follow Zanzibar law. See our guides to the Zanzibar business licence and Zanzibar VAT.

What are the government fees for a horticulture export?

Every amount below comes from the Zatra fee register. Government fees are paid to the authority at the official rate against a GePG control number. The amount on the control number governs on the day of payment.

The phytosanitary fee rose sharply under GN 929 of 2024. TPHPA's Director General, Prof Joseph Ndunguru, told The Guardian in February 2025 that the old structure dated from 1996. Zatra's professional fee is separate from all of these and is quoted in writing.

Worked example: 2 tonnes of avocados to the Netherlands

Kusini Fresh Ltd is a hypothetical Dar es Salaam exporter with a registered pack house in Njombe. It sells 2,000 kg of Hass avocados to an importer in Rotterdam, flown from JNIA. The fruit meets the 21 percent dry matter floor. The buyer requires GlobalG.A.P., which the farm already holds.

For example, if Kusini paid farmers an illustrative TZS 1,500 a kg, the farm-gate value is TZS 3,000,000. Cess at the 3 percent cap would be at most TZS 90,000, charged to the buyer. The annual business licence of TZS 100,000 (F0865) is an overhead, not a per-shipment cost.

A 2,000 kg French bean shipment to the same buyer costs the same TZS 163,000 at TPHPA, because beans also fall in the horticulture inspection band. On the portal's reading it needs no COPRA permit, since beans are perishable. Chillies would add the EU additional declaration and, if treatment is required, supervision at a minimum of TZS 380,000 (F0769).

Timeline, as a planning estimate rather than an official service standard:

• Day minus 10: confirm the buyer's import conditions and the airline space.
• Day minus 5: file the COPRA permit application with the invoice and licence.
• Day minus 2: pack, pre-cool and request TPHPA inspection at the approved pack house or the airport.
• Day minus 1: certificate issued; the agent lodges the TANCIS export entry.
• Day 0: cargo accepted at JNIA and flown. The certificate stays valid for seven days.

Key dates and deadlines

What to do now

1. Fix the legal base. Confirm the company or business name, TIN and, for traders, the Class A export licence before the first order.
2. Map the crop's regulator. Avocados need COPRA registration, a registered pack house and a per-consignment permit. Check other crops with COPRA in writing.
3. Read the buyer's market rules. Get the destination's import conditions, any additional declaration and the residue limits for each active ingredient you spray.
4. Audit the spray record. Use only TPHPA-registered pesticides and keep pre-harvest intervals that meet the EU limits.
5. Book cold chain and space. Agree pre-cooling, the airport cold room and the flight before inspection.
6. Time the inspection. Request TPHPA inspection so the seven-day certificate covers the actual flight, with a margin for delays.
7. Lodge the export entry. Give your clearing agent the invoice, packing list, certificates and permits for TANCIS.
8. Keep the zero-rating file. Store the export entry, airway bill and payment proof for each VAT return.

How Zatra helps

Zatra's import and export compliance team maps the permits for each crop and market, prepares the COPRA and TPHPA applications and builds the document pack your clearing agent lodges. We also set up the business licence and the VAT file that supports zero-rating.

Government fees are paid to TPHPA, COPRA, BRELA, the council or TRA at the official rate against a GePG control number. They are separate from Zatra's professional fee, which we quote in writing before work starts. Zatra does not decide or guarantee any authority's outcome. TPHPA, COPRA, TRA and the destination authorities decide.

A seized or rejected consignment, a prosecution under section 59, an appeal to the Minister or a contract dispute with a buyer is a matter for an advocate. We work with your advocate or introduce one. To start, contact Zatra with the crop, the destination and your current licences.

Sources and status

Accurate as at 5 November 2026.

• Plant Health Act, 2020 (No. 4 of 2020). TanzLII, as enacted 19 June 2020. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Plant Health Regulations, 2023, GN 284. TPHPA, published 21 April 2023. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Food Security (Avocado Crop Management) Regulations, 2026, GN 87. COPRA, 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Export procedures. Tanzania Revenue Authority, page current 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Tanzania Trade Portal, export procedures search. TanTrade, 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Trade of plants and plant products with non-EU countries. European Commission, 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides. EUR-Lex, 23 February 2005. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Additional declarations, fruits and vegetables, version 3.62. NVWA, 28 February 2024. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• EU pesticide regulations: maximum residue levels explained. AGRINFO, COLEAD, 30 November 2022. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Swissport opens temperature-controlled cargo facility at Kilimanjaro Airport. AviationPros, 12 August 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Tanzania avocado exports hit 52,000 tonnes. TanzaniaInvest, 3 November 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• As horticultural exports rise, regulators hike fees by 460pc. The Guardian (IPP Media), 24 February 2025. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• TAHA targets USD 2 billion in fruit and vegetable exports by 2030. The Guardian (IPP Media), 11 June 2025. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Over 400 Tanzanian firms approved to export produce to China. The Citizen, 7 February 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• GLOBALG.A.P. certification is increasingly used in the domestic market. FreshPlaza, 21 July 2026. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.
• Marine science gets boost in Zanzibar. Daily News, 22 July 2025. Accessed 5 Nov 2026.

Figures to confirm before you act

• Plant Health Act section numbers were read in the 2020 text on TanzLII. Confirm them against the revised Cap. 133 before citing them in a filing.
• The COPRA avocado export permit fee: GN 87 of 2026 states none, and register line F0775 is unverified. Ask COPRA for the amount.
• That COPRA is the "Authority" under GN 87 of 2026: the text does not define the term, but its forms ask for a COPRA number and COPRA publishes it.
• Whether a given fresh crop other than avocado needs any COPRA permit. The portal says perishables are excluded; confirm in writing.
• Which F0865 column (TZS 100,000 or TZS 80,000) applies to your licence, and whether a grower selling only its own produce is exempt.
• The Zanzibar office, statute and fee for an export phytosanitary certificate, and the Zanzibar VAT treatment of exports.
• The farm-gate price of TZS 1,500 a kg in the worked example is illustrative. The council's by-law and actual price govern the cess.

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.