An Economic Assessment of Banana Genetic Improvement and ...

32 CHAPTER 3
Table 3.2 Banana product segmentation in Tanzania
Product
Demand locus
Rate of growth in
demand
Chief
competitors Principal buyers Market requirement
Cooking type
In all production and
urban areas
High
Maize, rice,
cassava, and
sweet potatoes
Brewing type Within production areas Medium Industrial brews,
beers, and soft
drinks
Dessert type
Roasting type
Local beer
Banana wine
Banana biscuits,
flours, breads,
doughnuts, and the
like
In both rural and urban
areas of Mwanza,
Shinyanga, Dar es
Salaam, Dodoma, and
Singida
In urban areas in bars and
pubs
In rural areas of banana
production
In urban areas of major
towns
In areas not producing
bananas and distant
markets
High
Other fruits, such
as mangoes,
oranges, and
mandarins
Traders and
consumers with
medium to high
incomes
Local people
Traders and
consumers
(hotels,
restaurants, and
the like)
Low Round potatoes Traders and beer
drinkers
Medium
Medium
Low to
medium
Industrial beers and
soft drinks
Industrial beers and
soft drinks
Cereal products
from maize,
wheat, and rice
Low-income people
Medium- and highincome
people
Traders and
consumers
Efficient
transportation
system and good
handling facilities
for bananas
Production of good
quality cultivars
Improvement of
transportation
facilities
Increases in amount
supplied and
improvement
of roasting
techniques
Improvement of
quality
Standardization of
quality and mass
production
Improvement
of processing
technologies;
product
differentiation
Source: Nkuba et al. (2003).
Minor quantities of cooking bananas
and small sweet bananas are also exported
to Europe. Figure 3.4 shows that export
quantities have gradually increased from
500 tons in 1994 to about 1,600 tons in
2002. here> 3.4near