FOREIGN TRADE

Exports

Figures from Bank of Tanzania indicate that during the year ending September 2002, non traditional exports increased by 27% to $ 630.7 m, accounting for 49.0% of the export trade. The increase was attributed to increase in the volume of gold exported as a result of commissioning of a new gold mine.Gold production is estimated to hit one million ounce this year, up from 250,000 ounce last year and the Ministry of Energy and Minerals expects that the mining industry will represent as much as 10% of the country's GDP by 2025. Other categories of non-traditional exports such as fish and fish products and horticultural products also recorded an increase of 28%; while exports of traditional commodities increased by 53.0% to $8.9 million in September 2002 from $ 5.8 m recorded in August 2002, attributed to the increase in maize exports to Zambia and Malawi which faced food shortage, increase in oilseeds exports to Asian countries, and increase in export volumes of coffee, cotton, cashewnuts and cloves.

Commodities: gold, coffee, cashew nuts, manufactures, cotton 

Partners: UK 22.0%, India 14.8%, Germany 9.9%, Netherlands 6.9% 
 

Imports

$1.55 billion 

Commodities: consumer goods, machinery and transportation equipment, industrial raw materials, crude oil 

Partners: South Africa 11.5%, Japan 9.3%, UK 7.0%, Australia 6.2%  
 

Foreign investment

Foreign Direct Investment in major mining projects is currently worth$ 870 m and the Government gets $ 45 m annually as taxes from th emining industry. Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) last year registered the largest number of investors (320) in the country since the department was established in 1997. The previous best was 239 in 1998, followed 220 in 2001. The sector which attracted most investors was manufacturing including steel, edible oil, textiles, plastics, cotton ginning and beverages followed by tourism, natural resources, construction and energy.

Investment in Agriculture

Tanzania Investment Centre expects the Government to remove disputed laws that discourage foreign as well as local investors to invest in Tanzania, especially in the agricultural sector. The reference is apparently to the Land Act of 1999, cited as a major bottleneck for investment in Tanzania. The Government intends to remove this law in order to assist foreign investors to invest in rural and urban areas and to reduce obstacles that scare them away.

Export Processing Zones

The first Tanzanian Export Processing Zone (EPZ), spread over 270 acre and planned to be built at an estimated cost of $ 7.5 m, in the Dar es Salaam International Airport area is likely to become a reality in March 2003. Most of the funding is to come from over 70 investors from the US, UK, South Africa, Asia, Kenya and Uganda. The project is envisaged as a strategic move to fast track investment flows for the development of manufacturing and trade sectors geared to emerging international markets.