Value of goods exports up by 4 per cent

THE value of goods exported rose by 3.9 per cent to 1,969.7 million US dollars compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous year largely on account of non-traditional exports particularly manufactured goods.

According to the Bank of Tanzania Quarterly Economic Bulletin for the quarter ending December last year, the value of manufactured goods exports rose by 34.9 per cent to 438.6 million US dollars bolstered by cement and glassware.

During the period under review, traditional exports also edged up to 331.1 million US dollars from 314.2 million US dollars.

The central bank report shows that the external sector continued to face shocks in the form of weaker global demand, high commodity prices, tight financial conditions and supply-chain disruptions.

During the quarter ending December last year, the current account recorded a deficit of 1,448.2 million US dollars compared to 792 million US dollars in the corresponding quarter in the preceding year mainly driven by increased import bills, specifically for importing refined white petroleum products.

Meanwhile, the value of goods imported rose by 28.5 per cent to 3,858.4 million US dollars during the quarter from the amount registered in the same period in 2021.

The main drivers of the increase were refined white petroleum products, fertilisers, and industrial transport machinery.

Petroleum products worth 770.6 million US dollars were imported during the quarter, compared with 618.7 million US dollars in the corresponding quarter in 2021.

Services account recorded a surplus of 617.3 million US dollars in the quarter ending December last year higher than 490.4 million US dollars reported during the corresponding quarter in 2021.

The outturn was a result of an increase in service receipts, particularly from travel. The increase in travel earnings is consistent with an improvement in tourism activities, which is reflected in the rise in the number of international tourist arrivals to 420,507 from 298,296 during the two corresponding quarters.

The primary income account recorded a deficit of 365.7 million US dollars compared to 338.2 million US dollars in the same period in 2021.

On the other hand, the secondary income account recorded a surplus of 188.9 million US dollars up from 162.2 million US dollars in the corresponding period in 2021, due to an increase in inflows to the private sector.

Tanzania’s terms of trade remained optimistic and favourable above the benchmark of 100 though decreased slightly to 100.4 percentage points in the quarter ending September last year from 100.5 recorded in the previous quarter ending June.

This implies that every unit value of goods exported by Tanzania can buy more than a unit value of imported goods.