Habari
BALOZI WAZIRI AITAKA KAMPUNI YA KUZALISHA VIRUTUBISHO VYA CHAKULA YA SANKU KUTANUA MASOKO AFRIKA MASHARIKI, SADC NA PEMBE YA AFRIKA
📌 The goal is to ensure increased exports, allow Tanzania to trade regionally, and strengthen competitiveness;
📌 Urged SANKU to increase economic value-added production, strengthen competitiveness, and utilize technology to grow business and access new markets;
📌 Emphasized the importance of strengthening domestic industries through technology, innovation, investment, and the production of goods that meet quality standards for both local and international markets.
DAR ES SALAAM
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ambassador Waziri Rajab Salum, has urged the maize and wheat flour fortification and packaging company, Sanku Tanzania Limited, to leverage opportunities available in regional and international markets—including the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Horn of Africa—to expand its business scope, increase exports, and strengthen the competitiveness of locally produced goods.
He issued these directives during his visit to the Sanku Premix Blending factory located in the Mikocheni industrial area in Dar es Salaam. He instructed the company to explore business opportunities beyond East Africa by entering new markets, citing the Horn of Africa—particularly Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti—as potential growth areas for nutritional products due to high nutritional demands in those markets.
He emphasized the importance of the company conducting market assessments to identify needs, investment opportunities, and business prospects, thereby expanding its operational scope from basic service provision to commercial opportunities.
He added that the doser technology utilized in production aims to ensure that Tanzania and other African nations prioritize combating malnutrition and reducing maternal and child mortality caused by nutritional deficiencies as a key national agenda. This is why Her Excellency President Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan permitted the inclusion of fortificants in production.
Furthermore, the Permanent Secretary urged the company to broaden its production scope by adding animal nutrition fortificants, particularly for fish and other livestock, alongside upgrading technology and packaging production lines for various nutritional products.
He noted that this step will help increase the value of domestic products, foster industrial growth, and empower small and medium-scale entrepreneurs (SMEs) to access packaging services that meet production and market requirements.
To enhance the competitiveness of domestic industries, the Permanent Secretary directed the company to formulate strategies to protect and promote local industries, adopt a broad commercial outlook, and ensure that produced goods hold quality certification certificates.
He also urged SANKU to conduct research on the safety and quality of fortificants, and to strengthen cooperation with other industries and stakeholders in the health, agriculture, and livestock sectors. He recommended holding working sessions involving the Ministry of Health, the President's Office – Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG), the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, the Ministry of Agriculture, and other relevant institutions to establish joint strategies for advancing production and addressing nutritional challenges in the country.
On his part, the Director of Sanku Tanzania Limited, Robert Mwakajwanga, stated that the company has been cooperating with the Government since 2018 in efforts to reduce malnutrition challenges in the country through food fortification by adding iron, zinc, and vitamins B9 and B12.
He explained that the company also empowers small-scale entrepreneurs through fortification technology and specialized packaging centers, noting that an assessment conducted in collaboration with Government stakeholders revealed the existence of 10,038 small-scale mills nationwide, providing a major opportunity to expand technology and packaging services.
He added that the company will continue to cooperate with the Government to strengthen the food fortification system and enable small and medium entrepreneurs to access better technology and packaging materials, while emphasizing the importance of creating an environment that makes these efforts sustainable and reaches a wider population.
This visit is part of the implementation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s priorities in promoting domestic industrial production, adding value to products, attracting and strengthening investment, empowering entrepreneurs, and expanding markets for Tanzanian goods in African nations and other international markets.