Cotton marketing and ginneries in Tanzania

Law and regulator

The Cotton Industry Act, Cap. 201 sets up the Tanzania Cotton Board as a body corporate (section 3) ². Section 5(3) gives it power to license buyers, exporters and ginneries, to issue export permits and to set quality standards ². TCB publishes the Act, the Cotton Industry Regulations, 2011 and its season guidelines on its website ⁶.

The Controller and Auditor General audits the Board's accounts (section 50(2)) ². Appeals against Board decisions go to the Cotton Appeals Board within thirty days (section 52) ².

How seed cotton is sold

• All cotton must be sold through the local AMCOS, according to Guideline No. 1 of 2026/27 ³.
• TCB may give a private company a special permit to open a buying centre where an AMCOS is found unfit ³.
• The AMCOS sells for the licensed buyer offering the highest price that day. Farmers get that price ³.
• Under the Act, seed cotton may be sold only at designated buying posts. Buyers must show prices, issue receipts and keep Grade A and Grade B apart ².
• Farmers must get a receipt showing the date, weight, price and value ³.
• Cotton sold outside the cooperative system will be confiscated by the government, the guideline says ³.

Payment to farmers

The 2026/27 guideline allows payment by bank, mobile money or cash. Bank and mobile money payments are due within 48 hours after the cotton is received at the ginnery. Cash is paid at the buying centre once inspection and weighing are done ³. Input debts from the 2025/26 season may not be deducted from farmers' sales ³. Section 26 of the Act, in the R.E. 2023 text, tells buyers to pay cash on delivery ². The 2026/27 guideline adds bank and mobile money payment within 48 hours ³.

Buyers must pay advances into AMCOS accounts before the season starts. Cash handed to an AMCOS must be received by the clerk and at least two members ³. The guideline sets an operating cost of TSh 60 per kg. TSh 57 goes to the AMCOS account, TSh 2 stays with the company and TSh 1 goes to regional and district offices for supervision ³. The guideline gives no farm price per kg. TCB sets the indicative price separately ³.

Ginnery registration and licences

A ginnery needs Board approval before it is registered. The owner must finish building it within two years, and the Board may cap the number of ginneries in an area (section 28) ². Ginning or baling needs a valid licence, which runs until 31 March of the year after issue (section 29) ². The Board keeps a register of ginneries (section 32) ².

Ginners must keep equipment in order, grade and separate cotton, keep records and meet fire and cleanliness rules (section 34) ². Buying licences end on 15 November in the Western zone and 15 January in the Eastern zone (section 20(2)) ². TCB says it issues licences to move cotton bales inside and outside the country ⁴.

Ginnery duties in the 2026/27 season

• Weigh and unload cotton within 2 days of arrival at the factory ³
• Pay the council levy, cooperative levy and Cotton Development Trust Fund levy within 48 hours after arrival. The guideline does not state the levy amounts ³
• Weigh vehicles before they leave and compare weights at the factory scale. Large gaps go to TCB, the Cooperative Development Commission and the Weights and Measures Agency ³
• Use digital scales in Simiyu, Kigoma and Katavi and in Igunga, Nzega, Kishapu, Kahama and Magu districts ³
• A company with unpaid debt from an earlier collection may not collect cotton again ³

Production figures

Seed cotton output was 149,361 tonnes in 2024/25 and 222,060 tonnes in 2025/26, as reported by Nashon Kennedy of Daily News on 1 September 2026. The peak in the five seasons was 282,316 tonnes in 2023/24 ⁵. The same report puts the number of cotton farmers at about 500,000 a year ⁵.