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Ko Impex Limited

Origin

Tanzania Pulses & Beans Origin

The primary origin for East African pigeon peas, mung beans, cowpeas and dry beans, with deep-water export through Dar es Salaam.

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Locator map of Tanzania and its neighbours in eastern Africa, with Tanzania shaded. Export gateways in Tanzania: Dar es Salaam, Mtwara, Tanga.TanzaniaDar es SalaamMtwaraTanga
Export gateways in Tanzania: Dar es Salaam, Mtwara, Tanga. Outlines: Natural Earth.
Commodities
23 sourced from Tanzania
Export gateways
Dar es Salaam · Mtwara · Tanga
Producing regions
7 zones covered

Commodities

What Tanzania supplies

Every commodity in the catalogue sourced from Tanzania, with the note that matters commercially for each and the producing zones named in the sourcing data.

Sourcing

Production regions

Where the crop is grown in Tanzania, and what each zone contributes commercially. Districts named are the recognised growing areas for the zone, not the location of a specific lot.

  • Manyara and Arusha

    Northern highlands and the Babati belt

    Pigeon Peas · Light Speckled Kidney Beans · Chickpeas

    The most established pigeon pea zone in the country, with long-duration varieties and an export-oriented trade. Karatu and the surrounding highlands also produce speckled beans.

  • Dodoma and Singida

    Central semi-arid plateau

    Mung Beans (Green Gram) · Cowpeas

    The core green gram and cowpea zone. Lower and less reliable rainfall favours short-duration pulses over cereals.

  • Mbeya, Songwe, Rukwa and Katavi

    Southern Highlands

    Red Kidney Beans · Light Speckled Kidney Beans · Yellow Beans · White Kidney Beans

    The principal dry bean zone, with higher and more reliable rainfall and a well-developed bean trade.

  • Njombe and Iringa

    Southern Highlands

    Red Kidney Beans · Light Speckled Kidney Beans · Yellow Beans

  • Lindi, Mtwara and Ruvuma

    Southern coastal and inland districts

    Pigeon Peas · Cowpeas

    Adds pigeon pea and cowpea volume, with the option of loading through Mtwara for southern-sourced cargo.

  • Morogoro and Tabora

    Central and western corridors

    Mung Beans (Green Gram) · Cowpeas · Pigeon Peas

  • Kigoma and Kagera

    Lake and western regions

    Red Kidney Beans · Yellow Beans

    Bean-producing regions that also handle cross-border volume from Burundi and Rwanda.

Sourcing in Tanzania

Tanzania is the centre of gravity for pulses in East Africa. The country grows commercial volumes of pigeon peas, mung beans, cowpeas, chickpeas and a wide range of dry beans across climatic zones that run from the semi-arid central plateau to the high-rainfall Southern Highlands. That spread matters commercially: it produces more than one harvest window in a calendar year, and it means a shortfall in one growing zone does not necessarily close the origin for the season.

Production is overwhelmingly smallholder. Volume is assembled through village-level aggregation, district markets and warehouse operators in the producing regions, then moved to cleaning and packing points near the corridor to Dar es Salaam. The practical consequence for a buyer is that lot-to-lot variation at farm level is real, and the quality of the finished consignment depends on how disciplined the intake, cleaning and grading stages are — not on the field alone.

Crop-year discipline is a live commercial issue at this origin. Because pulses store reasonably well, older crop remains in the market alongside new crop for months after harvest. Buyers who care about colour retention, cooking performance and insect load should contract on a stated crop year and treat it as a specification parameter, not a formality.

ISO country code TZ

Seasonality

Tanzania crop calendar

Planting, harvest, peak availability and export windows for 12 of the 23 commodities sourced from Tanzania.

  • Pigeon Peas

    Planting
    December to February
    Harvest
    June to September
    Peak availability
    July to September
    Export window
    July to December

    Long-duration varieties in the northern belt are planted with the main rains and harvested from mid-year. Short-duration material can come earlier.

  • Mung Beans (Green Gram)

    Planting
    March to April and November to December
    Harvest
    February to April and July to August
    Peak availability
    March to April
    Export window
    March to May and August to October

    Short-duration crop, so it comes to market quickly after the rains. The central regions supply the main window.

  • Cowpeas

    Planting
    December to January
    Harvest
    May to August
    Peak availability
    June to July
    Export window
    June to October

    Grown widely in the central and southern semi-arid districts, in white, red and black-eyed types.

  • Chickpeas

    Planting
    February to March
    Harvest
    June to August
    Peak availability
    July to August
    Export window
    July to October

    Volumes are modest relative to Ethiopia and concentrated in the northern highland districts.

  • Red Kidney Beans

    Planting
    December to January
    Harvest
    May to July
    Peak availability
    June to July
    Export window
    June to October

    Southern Highlands main crop. Bimodal districts in the north add a second, smaller window early in the year.

  • Light Speckled Kidney Beans

    Planting
    December to January
    Harvest
    May to July
    Peak availability
    June to July
    Export window
    June to October

    Southern Highlands main crop. Bimodal districts in the north add a second, smaller window early in the year.

  • Dark Red Kidney Beans

    Planting
    December to January
    Harvest
    May to July
    Peak availability
    June to July
    Export window
    June to October

    Southern Highlands main crop. Bimodal districts in the north add a second, smaller window early in the year.

  • White Kidney Beans

    Planting
    December to January
    Harvest
    May to July
    Peak availability
    June to July
    Export window
    June to October

    Southern Highlands main crop. Bimodal districts in the north add a second, smaller window early in the year.

  • Navy Beans

    Planting
    December to January
    Harvest
    May to July
    Peak availability
    June to July
    Export window
    June to October

    Southern Highlands main crop. Bimodal districts in the north add a second, smaller window early in the year.

  • Small White Beans

    Planting
    December to January
    Harvest
    May to July
    Peak availability
    June to July
    Export window
    June to October

    Southern Highlands main crop. Bimodal districts in the north add a second, smaller window early in the year.

  • Black Beans

    Planting
    December to January
    Harvest
    May to July
    Peak availability
    June to July
    Export window
    June to October

    Southern Highlands main crop. Bimodal districts in the north add a second, smaller window early in the year.

  • Yellow Beans

    Planting
    December to January
    Harvest
    May to July
    Peak availability
    June to July
    Export window
    June to October

    Southern Highlands main crop. Bimodal districts in the north add a second, smaller window early in the year.

KeyPlantingHarvestPeak availabilityExport window

Crop timing may vary by region, rainfall patterns and growing season. Windows shown are indicative and should be confirmed against current-season availability before contracting.

No seasonal window is published yet for Pinto Beans, Great Northern Beans, Lima Beans (Butter Beans), Black Gram, Adzuki Beans, Bambara Groundnuts, Lablab Beans (Hyacinth Beans), Whole Green Peas, Green Split Peas, Whole Yellow Peas, Yellow Split Peas. Those commodities are sourced from Tanzania, but the timing has not been recorded here — ask and we will give the current position.

Logistics

How cargo reaches the ship

Collection in the producing regions, movement overland, and loading at the export gateway.

Tanzania also has the logistical advantage among East African pulse origins. Dar es Salaam is a deep-water port on the Indian Ocean with direct services to South Asia and the Gulf, which is where the largest share of pigeon peas and mung beans is consumed. Cargo does not need to transit a neighbouring country, and the inland distance from the main producing regions is manageable by road.

  1. Step 1

    Origin collection

    7 producing zones in Tanzania

    Volume is assembled in the producing regions, then cleaned and graded before it is packed.

    • Manyara and Arusha
    • Dodoma and Singida
    • Mbeya, Songwe, Rukwa and Katavi
    • Njombe and Iringa
    • Lindi, Mtwara and Ruvuma
    • Morogoro and Tabora
    • Kigoma and Kagera

  2. Step 2

    Inland transport

    3 corridors

    The corridor is normally chosen per shipment against transit time, cost and equipment availability rather than fixed in advance.

    • Central Corridor
    • Northern route
    • Southern route

  3. Step 3

    Export gateway

    3 load ports on the coast of Tanzania

    Cargo loads without crossing a border, which shortens the documentation chain.

    • Dar es Salaam
    • Mtwara
    • Tanga

What this means for your shipment

Load port
Dar es Salaam is the default load port for Tanzanian pulses, with direct and transhipment services to Indian, Pakistani, Gulf, Turkish and European destinations.
Inland transport
Inland movement is by road from the producing regions to the cleaning and stuffing point, then to the port terminal. Road weight limits, not container capacity, are frequently what determines the planned net weight per container.
Container loading
Containers are typically stuffed at the packing point or at a container freight station near the port, depending on volume, cleaning location and the inspection arrangement agreed with the buyer.
Documentation
Phytosanitary certification for Tanzanian consignments is issued by the national plant health authority following inspection of the consignment, and certificates of origin are issued by the recognised chamber of commerce. Current procedure and lead times should be confirmed for each shipment.
Scheduling
Peak season congestion is a real scheduling factor. When several pulses come to market at once, transport, cleaning capacity and equipment availability tighten together, and shipment dates need to be planned with that in mind.

Route alternatives

Central Corridor
Dar es Salaam inland through Morogoro, Dodoma and Singida to the lake and western regions, and onward to Rwanda, Burundi and eastern DRC. The main artery for Tanzanian pulse exports.
Northern route
Arusha and Manyara production moving south-east to Dar es Salaam, or to Tanga for suitable cargo.
Southern route
Lindi, Mtwara and Ruvuma production moving to Dar es Salaam by road, or loading through Mtwara where volumes and services justify it.

Delivery terms, third-party inspection and the export document set do not change by origin.

Incoterms, ports and documentation

Request Tanzanian pulse availability

Tell us the commodity, specification, quantity, packing, destination port and Incoterm. Tanzania is preselected on the form, and you can change it. Availability is confirmed against the current crop rather than published as a standing offer.

  • Commodity
  • Specification
  • Crop year
  • Quantity
  • Packing
  • Destination port
  • Incoterm
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