Kampala
9/11/07

TANZANIA EXPORTS UP AS CONSTRUCTION IMPROVES THE ECONOMY OF ZANZIBAR.

By Leo Odera Omolo
 
Reports emerging from Dar Es Salaam says, Tanzania exported goods and services worth USD 14.9 million in august compared with export valued at USD 6.7 million recorded in June, ending month of low performance.
 
According to the latest Bank of Tanzania monthly economic review report just released, the surge in trade is attributed to a sharp rise in the export volumes of cash crops as coffee, cotton, sisal and tea.
 
The Bank report says that ‘’impressive performance was recorded in cotton as the volume exported increased from 1,514 tones in July 2007 to 9,821 tones in August.’’
 
Although the increase in volumes was consistent with the onset of the traditional exports, the prices of most of the commodities on the world market improved during the season under review.
 
But the report warns that on annual basis, export performance was rated as dismal since total earnings were only USD 277.5 million in contrast to USD 351.8 – million recorded in the previous year.
 
The BOT report states that the depressed annual export performance was largely caused by a significant drop in export volumes of cotton and cashew nuts during the period under review.
 
Bad weather was also to blame for the declining cotton exports to only 32, 587 tones compared with 108,638 tones that were exported by Tanzania in the previous year.
 
‘’Similarly, the export volume of cashew nuts declined by 32.4 per cent to 57,000 tones following price disagreement between buyers and producers,’’ says the report.
 
The cashew nut Board of Tanzania had since, the beginning of buying season in October 2006, set the USD 0.6 per kg as the buying price, but the buyers were reluctant to buy the crop at the price. Instead, they offered USD 0.4 per kg, causing dispute in the market.
 
The BOT report further states that non-traditional exports decreased marginally to USD 138.6 million from the USD 143 million ranked in the previous month.
 
The poor performance was attributed to poor show by the country’s manufacturing sector, particularly the sugar exports caused by the country’s exhaustion of the export quota to the European union market.
 
On an annual basis, non – tradition exports recorded an increase of 14.9 per cent to USD 1,503.1 million as most sub-categories of non-traditional growth.
 
Gold exports for example, increased to USD 802.8 million from USD 714.6 million in the previous year largely due to the increase in prices in the world market, as export volumes remained almost unchanged.
 
Manufactured exports increased by 35.7 per cent to USD 254.9 million supported by the increased demands from the neighbouring land locked countries, according to the BOT report.
 
In Zanzibar, the report notes that the construction and transport sectors were the major economic drives in the period under review.
 
Importation of capital goods for the raising domestic demand in the construction industry pushed importation of capital goods on the isles.
 
Imports of goods in Zanzibar in the month of August increased to the previous to USD 6.8 million, from USD 5.6 million in the previous month, mainly due to expanding construction and transportation projects.
 
Reports sources from BOT and East African weekly.
 
Ends.
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com