BLANTYRE, MALAWI —
Tanzania has banned imports of soybeans from Malawi to protect its agricultural sector from the presence of the tobacco ringspot virus in that neighboring country.
The Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticide Authority said in a recent statement that its pest risk analysis on soybeans from Malawi has established the presence of the tobacco ringspot virus, which poses significant risk to soybean production in Tanzania.
The virus is highly contagious and can lead to yield reduction and economic losses ranging from 25% to 100% for farmers, the statement said.
Some analysts are calling Tanzania’s action retaliatory, as it comes a few days after Malawi banned maize imports from Tanzania and Kenya over maize lethal necrosis disease in those two countries.
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Malawi Bans Maize Imports From Kenya, Tanzania Over Disease
