Tanzania plans to export 40 per cent of its maize surplus to China, a top government official has disclosed.

The biggest maize producer in East Africa, Tanzania will sell as much as a million metric tonnes of the grain as last year’s harvest bursts its silos with a record 2.5 million-tonne surplus.

Bilateral talks between Dar and Beijing are in the final stages, according to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Uledi Musa.

“America used to supply China with maize but Beijing suspended the deal after the US started using genetically modified (GM) technology in maize growing,” Mr Musa explained.

Tanzania expects to sign a protocol with China for phytosanitary requirements for maize exports soon. This means the Asian country will carry out pest-risk assessment before importing maize from Tanzania.

Local farmers expect the new trade partnership to benefit them and stabilise domestic maize production and prices.

“The sooner the deal gets sealed the better, as this will encourage farmers to keep producing surpluses, which will also be good for the local consumers,” said Lohai Langai, the secretary-general of the small-scale farmers association (MVIWata) in Manyara region.

However, analysts say although the deal is a business opportunity for Tanzania it poses an immediate threat to food security in the country if it is not well negotiated.

Dr Gasper Mpehongwa, a senior lecturer of development studies at Tumaini University, said the deal will encourage entrepreneurs to produce surpluses for the Chinese market but the venture would also draw down the food stocks in the country.

“China’s growing demand for maize is driven by population growth as well as economic growth,” Dr Mpehongwa told The EastAfrican. “This is a great market for our maize but the state ought to regulate it so that Beijing does not buy up our entire food stock.”

Tanzania expects to export maize for a price ranging from $400 to $440 a tonne, implying that the country will rake in $440 million from the sale, a source privy to the deal told The EastAfrican on condition of anonymity.

Major importer of maize

China had become a major importer of maize in recent years and is now the world’s fifth largest importer of maize behind Japan, followed by Mexico, South Korea and Egypt, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA estimates that, for the latest marketing year, China will import about 2.9 million tonnes of maize.

China mainly uses rice for human consumption and imports mainly yellow maize for animal feed.

Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives records indicate that the country ended the year with a commendable 125 per cent food sufficiency.

Indeed, in the past three years, Tanzania has been harvesting more food crops than it can consume, having been 118 per cent food sufficient in 2013.