Trade between Russia and Tanzania rising sharply

Russian exports to the East African state have climbed by a quarter this year, as both sides pursue new agreements in agriculture, aviation, and healthcare

Trade between Russia and Tanzania has increased by 20% since the beginning of 2025, with Russian exports to the East African country growing by a quarter, TASS reported on Tuesday, citing data discussed at a joint Moscow-Dar es Salaam economic cooperation meeting in St. Petersburg.

The surge has been driven largely by outbound shipments of wheat, meslin, and fertilizers, while tobacco raw materials, coffee, tea, and fruit remain key imports from Tanzania, Russian Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov said.

“After last year’s decline in trade turnover, we managed to increase figures by 20% in January-February this year,” Reshetnikov stated, summarizing the outcome of the plenary session of the Intergovernmental Russian-Tanzanian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Russia and Tanzania have maintained diplomatic relations since 1961, with cooperation spanning education, energy, defense, and infrastructure. During a two-day meeting in St. Petersburg from May 12–13, officials from both countries agreed to deepen joint efforts in trade, logistics, transport, energy, agriculture, investment, tourism, and education.

READ MORE: Russia in talks on new cargo line with African state

According to Reshetnikov, Russian fertilizer producers are ready to increase shipments to Tanzania, which imports over 90% of its annual 700,000-tonne compost requirement. Russian entrepreneurs are keen to support the efficient use of mineral fertilizers and are willing to train Tanzanian partners in advanced agronomic practices, the minister added.

The talks also touched on pharmaceutical cooperation, including the possibility of Russian businesses localizing production of diagnostic test kits and vaccines to serve the Tanzanian market.

Read more

Moscow and Dar es Salaam are working to implement a bilateral air service agreement signed in June of last year, which aims to resume direct flights between the two countries. Prior to the suspension of flights in 2021, several Russian airlines operated flights to the Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar, with official statistics indicating that approximately 6,300 Russian nationals visited Tanzania in 2019, including 4,000 tourists.

“In tourism, the top priority is to resume direct air connections. It is essential to finalize all procedures as quickly as possible to bring the agreement into effect,” Reshetnikov stated.

Commenting on the meeting, Andrey Maslov, head of the Center for African Studies at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, told RT “I was impressed by the level of the delegation, which included representatives of the business community and leading companies in Tanzania.

The dialogue has been built around the expansion of trade and investment, the creation of infrastructure for them. The meeting demonstrated a high level of interest of the Tanzanian side in developing the relationship. Special attention was given to various projects in the field of training, exchange of knowledge in the field of state-building.”