Exports bring in more cash

Tanzania`s July exports almost tripled, as goods and services worth USD 14.9m were sold abroad, compared to exports valued USD 5.7m recorded June.

The Bank of Tanzania Monthly Economic Review of September attributes the surge in foreign trade to a sharp spike in export volumes of coffee, cotton, sisal and tea.

``Impressive performance was recorded in cotton as the volume exported increased from 1,514 tons in July 2007 to 9,821 tons`` it indicates.

And it says the increase in export volumes was consistent with the onset of the exports season for most of the traditional exports.

Incidentally, the prices of most exports on the world market improved during the season under review.

However, on annual basis, export performance was rated as dismal for total export earnings were only USD 277.5m in contrast to USD 351.8m recorded in the previous year.

The report argues that the depressing annual export performance was largely caused by significant drop in export volumes of cotton and cashew nuts and during the review period.

Bad weather was to blame for the declining cotton exports to 32,587 tons compared with 108,638 tons that were exported in the previous year, it says.

Similarly, the export volume of cashew-nuts declined by 32.4 percent to 57,000 tons following price disagreement between buyers and producers of cashew-nuts,`` it notes.

Since the commencement of buying season in October 2006, the buyers were reluctant to buy the crop at the price of 600/- per kilogram set by the cashew-nut Board of Tanzania (CBT), and instead, insisted to offer 400/- per kilogram, the price which was not accepted by farmers.

Meanwhile, non-traditional exports decreased marginally to USD 138.6m compared to USD 143m raked in during the previous month.

The murky performance was attributable to unlucky performance of the country`s manufacturing sector, and in particular the sugar export devoid caused by country\'s exhaustion of its export quota in the European Union market.

On annual basis, non- traditional exports recorded an increase of 14.9 percent to USD 1,603.1m as most sub-categories of non- traditional exports recorded spikes.

Gold exports, for instance, increased to USD 802.8m from USD 714.6 in the previous year largely due to increase in prices in the world market as exports volumes remained almost unchanged.

Manufactured exports increased by 35.7 percent to USD 254.9m supported by the increased demands from neighbouring landlocked countries, according to the Bank of Tanzania report.