Tanzania’s exporters welcome China’s participation on leaf tobacco market

Exporters in Tanzania have welcomed the participation of China in the market for tobacco, according to a story by Sebastian Mrindoko for the China Daily newspaper.

China would provide a reliable market for Tanzania’s tobacco and reduce dependency on traditional Western markets, the executive director of the Tanzania Exporters’ Association, Mtemi Laurence was quoted as saying.

The least developed tobacco exporters were likely to lose their traditional markets following the EU’s plan to make cigarettes less attractive to new smokers, he said.

In fact, the European Commission’s proposed revisions to the Tobacco Products Directive are modest in ambition, aiming to reduce tobacco consumption by two percent over five years.

According to the World Trade Organization, tobacco accounts for about 60 percent of Tanzania’s foreign earnings.