Tanzania, China trade volume rises by 6.8 pc in eight months  

Tanzania, China

TANZANIA: TRADE volume between Tanzania and China has increased by 6.8 per cent to 5.41 billion US dollars (13.5tri/-) in the first eight months this year, compared to the similar period last year.

The pace of increase in trade volume is likely to surpass the amount registered for the entire last year which was 8.31 billion US dollars (20.8tri/-).

Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, Ms Chen Mingjian, said recently that the increase reflects the good cooperation between the two countries as the soybean crop appears to have been mostly sold to China, in a large amount.

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“For the year 2022, more than 1,000 tonnes of soybeans were sent to China and even this year, from January to August, more than 2,000 tonnes have been shipped to the second largest economy in the world, this is according to the markets of Chinese traders,” she said.

Ambassador Ms Chen said the major goods traded between the two countries during the past years, basically are agricultural products, machines, minerals and auto parts.

“Tanzania exports to China are agricultural products and minerals while Tanzania imports from China are auto parts, machines and household items,” she said.

Ambassador Chen made the remarks during the farewell ceremony for Tanzanian exhibitors who will attend the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in China.

It is six years since the inception of the (CIIE) exhibition, and Tanzania has participating in all the exhibitions.

Tanzanian participants to the exhibition have been taking with them various products including cashews, soybeans and other agricultural products.

The Chairman of Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TanTrade), Prof Ulingeta Mbamba said so far, a total of 16 companies have registered to showcase their products at the sixth international exhibition in China (CIIE).

“Sixteen companies have registered, so far. The doors are still open, and we are continuing to register and today is the last day (yesterday) before traveling,” he said.

Mr Mbamba said he would like to see many businesspersons exploiting the opportunity because the Chinese market is big with a huge number of customers.

“It is important for Tanzanians to exploit the market by promoting their products in China.  They should focus on agricultural, mining and tourism products,” he said.

One of the traders, Stella Magori, from the Kibisa Millennium Venture Company dealing with coffee products, said that since it is their first time to participate in the fair, they will deliver agricultural products because they are of high quality.

“We will deliver the best agricultural products and we will get a chance to link with different traders from different nations,” she said.

Director of Afri Tea and Coffee Blenders Mr Abdullakim Mulla said they volunteer to participate in the coming exhibition because they want to connect with different traders and create opportunities that will help the coming generations.