Tanzania has traded more than 200,000 tonnes of sesame through the Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX), a state-backed digital auction platform aimed at modernising the country’s agricultural markets.
TMX Business Operations Officer Mahama Kadikilo announced the milestone in Dar es Salaam, noting the exchange’s role in improving transparency and eliminating inefficiencies that have long plagued traditional trading channels.
For decades, smallholder sesame farmers faced opaque pricing and exploitative middlemen that eroded profits despite strong global demand. TMX’s competitive bidding system now enables equitable price discovery, while its online infrastructure gives licensed buyers real-time market data, reducing regional disparities and helping farmers negotiate better deals.
The Lindi Region led national output, contributing about 74,000 tonnes to the total traded volume. Kadikilo said TMX is fostering trust between producers, traders, and buyers, strengthening the agricultural value chain and reinforcing Tanzania’s position as a competitive supplier to Asia and the Middle East.
As demand for high-quality sesame continues to grow internationally, TMX plans to expand its commodity portfolio, bring more smallholder farmers into the system, and digitise trade documentation to cut transaction costs.
