Crop calendar
Tanzania Coffee Crop Calendar
Cycle summary
- Crop year
- Crop year commonly quoted July–June
- Harvest
- June–October in the south; July–December in the north
- Export window
- August through to the following June, peaking October–March
- Species
- Arabica, Robusta
- Altitude
- 1,000–2,000 m (Arabica typically 1,400–1,900 m)
- Ports
- Dar es Salaam, Tanga
Calendars
3 regional cycles
Each calendar covers one growing area or one crop cycle. Where a country runs more than one, they are shown separately rather than averaged.
Southern highlands — Mbeya, Songwe, Mbinga (Arabica)
Crop year commonly quoted July–June
- Flowering: Sep–Nov
- Cherry development: Nov–May
- Harvest: Jun–Oct. Peak July–September
- Processing & drying: Jun–Nov
- Dry milling & grading: Aug–Jan
- Main export window: Aug–May
The southern belt harvests earlier than the north and supplies the larger share of Tanzanian Arabica volume.
Northern highlands — Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Meru (Arabica)
Crop year commonly quoted July–June
- Flowering: Oct–Dec
- Cherry development: Dec–Jun
- Harvest: Jul–Dec. Peak August–October
- Processing & drying: Jul–Jan
- Dry milling & grading: Sep–Mar
- Main export window: Sep–Jun
Higher altitudes on Kilimanjaro and Meru pick latest, extending the window into December.
Kagera (Robusta)
Crop year commonly quoted July–June
- Flowering: Sep–Nov and Mar–Apr
- Cherry development: Nov–Apr
- Harvest: May–Aug
- Processing & drying: May–Sep
- Dry milling & grading: Jul–Nov
- Main export window: Jul–Feb
Kagera Robusta is predominantly dry-processed, so the drying phase dominates the processing window.
These are typical ranges
Harvest timing shifts year to year with rainfall, and within a country with altitude and aspect. Treat these as planning ranges rather than as fixed dates, and confirm the position for the specific crop when a shipment window is being agreed.
Regions
Regional harvest timing
Which areas pick when, and what that means for the separations available at each point in the season.
| Region | Altitude | Species | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kilimanjaro | 1,400–1,900 m | Arabica | July–December |
| Arusha & Mount Meru | 1,300–1,800 m | Arabica | July–November |
| Mbeya & Songwe | 1,400–2,000 m | Arabica | June–October |
| Mbinga & Ruvuma | 1,200–1,800 m | Arabica | June–October |
| Kagera | 1,000–1,500 m | Robusta, Arabica | May–August |
| Kigoma | 1,300–1,800 m | Arabica | June–October |
Keep reading
Planning a shipment
- Coffee Crop YearWhat a coffee crop year is, why the convention differs between origins, and why "current crop" should never appear alone in a contract.
- Current Crop vs Past CropWhat distinguishes current crop from past crop green coffee, why storage matters more than age, how to recognise the difference, and how to contract around it.
- Green Coffee ShippingHow green coffee moves from East African origins to destination: corridors, ports, transit time drivers, cargo protection and what to check on arrival.
- Tanzania Green CoffeeTanzanian green coffee from the northern and southern highlands plus Kagera Robusta — grades, regions, harvest windows, cup profiles and how to specify a Tanzanian parcel.
- Container Loading for Green CoffeeHow many bags of green coffee fit in a 20ft or 40ft container — and why the honest answer is a calculation, not a number. Payload limits and stow patterns.
- Current AvailabilityCurrent crop availability by origin, species, process and grade.