Tanzania Exports Up by 13% in The Year Ending March 2024, Tourism Receipts Up by 28%, Traditional Exports Up by 36%, and Horticultural Exports Up by 40%

The Bank of Tanzania (BOT) released its Monthly Economic Review-April 2024 which covers key macroeconomic indicators for the year ending March 2024.

External Sector Performance

The external sector continued to portray signs of recovery, notwithstanding persistent concerns stemming from the ongoing conflicts—Russian-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars.

As of March 2024, there were notable upticks in exports, accompanied by a decline in imports, culminating in a reduction of the current account deficit by half to USD 2,584.1 million for the year, compared to USD 5,282.2 million during the same period in 2023.

Foreign Exchange Reserves

Foreign exchange reserves remained adequate, increasing to USD 5,327.1 million at the end of March 2024, up from USD 5,012.5 million at the end of a similar period in 2023.

The reserves were sufficient to finance 4.4 months of projected import of goods and services.

Exports

In the year ending March 2024, exports of goods and services rose by 13.6%, reaching USD 14,301.4 million, compared with the level recorded in the corresponding period in 2023.

The main drivers of growth include gold, receipts from travel (tourism) and transport, as well as traditional goods.

Non-traditional Goods and Mineral Exports

Exports of non-traditional goods also increased by 1.3% to USD 6,286.7 million, supported by gold, horticultural products, and oil seeds.

Gold exports were USD 3,106.6 million, accounting for almost half of all non-traditional exports. This represents an increase of 7.4% from USD 2,890.0 million in the year ending March 2023.

Horticultural product exports reached USD 417.9 million, up by 40.6% from USD 297.2 million in the previous year.

The increase in horticultural product exports was largely on account of a rise in vegetable exports, particularly melons and chickpeas.

Traditional Goods Exports

Traditional goods exports amounted to USD 1,031 million, a 35.9% increase from USD 758.4 million in the previous year.

A significant increase was registered in exports of tobacco, coffee, cotton, and cashew nuts owing to both price and volume effects.

Service and Tourism Receipts

Service receipts amounted to USD 6,562.2 million in the year ending March 2024, up from USD 5,221.8 million in the previous year, mostly driven by travel (tourism) and transportation receipts.

Travel (tourism) receipts amounted to USD 3,581.2 million in the year ending March 2024, up by 28.4% from USD 2,788.3 million in the previous year.

The increase in travel receipts reflects the recovery of the tourism sector, consistent with developments in the global tourism industry. Tourist arrivals recorded an annual increase of 21.9% to 1,919,447.

On a monthly basis, service receipts reached USD 542.3 million in March 2024, compared with USD 481 million in March 2023.