On 30th January 2024, Ambassador Baraka Luvanda and Embassy staff paid a courtesy visit to Mr. Hitoshi Iwata, Managing Director of UCC Company Ltd., and Executive Director of the Specialty Coffee Association of Japan (SCAJ), the organizers of SCAJ Conference and Exhibition. The courtesy visit was done at the UCC Headquarters in Tokyo, with a view to discussing the Tanzania and Japan coffee business relations.
During the courtesy visit, Mr. Iwata first gave Ambassador Luvanda a tour of the UCC facilities showing him the production process and machinery. After the tour, they had discussions about the prospects of the coffee business in Japan in relations to Tanzania.
In his presentation, Mr. Iwata informed that UCC collaborates with the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) to promote coffee to entire Asia coffee stakeholders through the SCAJ Conference and Exhibition which is held in Tokyo, every year. He appreciated Tanzania's renewed membership with SCAJ and the consistent participation since the resumption of the exhibition after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022.
Mr. Iwata also shared that UCC has been engaging in business with coffee growers in Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya, and Ruvuma regions of Tanzania. He highlighted that UCC imports approximately 2,385 metric tons of coffee from Tanzania, which is equivalent to 3.1% of the total Japan import volume of coffee of about 17,000 metric tons.
Furthermore, Mr. Iwata revealed UCC's prospects to assist small-scale coffee farmers in Tanzania through the Japan-IFAD Partnership Fund, the largest source of financing for agricultural and rural development in developing countries. He also stated that UCC intends to partner with IFAD later this year to implement supporting programs that would assist small-scale farmers in important coffee - producing areas in southern Tanzania, notably in the Ruvuma and Mbeya regions. He added that they are seeking to provide financial support and introduce modern technology in farming like cost-effective farming techniques and irrigation mechanisms to increase production and ensure coffee quality stability.
In his remarks, Ambassador Luvanda expressed his appreciation for the enlightening tour of the company's facilities and commended UCC's engagements in trade with Tanzania. He also lauded UCC's efforts to support small-scale coffee farmers in Tanzania through the IFAD Programme.
Ambassador Luvanda assured Mr. Iwata that Tanzania, through the Tanzania Coffee Board, will continue to be an ardent member of SCAJ and will participate in the next SCAJ event scheduled for October 9th to 12th of this year. Moreover, he expressed his confidence in UCC's ability to continue to contribute positively to the growth and development of the coffee industry in Tanzania.
