Tanzania Exports YE November 2024: Growth in Gold, Horticulture, Tourism, and Increased Transportation Earnings

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

External Sector Performances

The external sector continued to improve, aligning with the recovery of both domestic and global conditions.

The deficit in the current account narrowed by 35% to USD 2,025.8 million in the year ending November 2024.

The improvement was associated with improved export performances and relatively low import bills.

Foreign Exchange Reserves

Foreign exchange reserves increased to USD 5,056.8 million as at the end of November 2024 compared with USD 4,850.8 million at the end of November 2023.

The reserve was sufficient to cover 4.1 months of projected imports of goods and services, above the national benchmark of 4 months.

Exports

Exports of goods and services continued to improve, driven primarily by recovering external demand.

Exports amounted to USD 15,872.9 million in the year ending November 2024, up from USD 13,901.2 million in the same period in 2023, with minerals, agricultural products, manufactured goods, and service receipts being the primary contributors.

Goods exports amounted to USD 8,887.1 million higher than USD 7,771.7 million in November 2023.

Mineral exports accounted for the largest share, with gold amounting to USD 3,320.9 million—representing 83.1% of mineral exports and 37.4% of goods exports.

A notable increase was also registered in vegetables, oil seeds, and fish and fish products.

Month-on-month, exports of goods amounted to USD 1,073.7 million in November 2024, compared to USD 733.9 million in a similar period in 2023.

Service and Tourism Receipts

Services receipts were USD 6,985.9 million in the year ending November 2024, a 14% increase over the same period in 2023.

The improvement was ascribed to increased travel (tourism) and transportation earnings.

Travel receipts accounted for 23.2% of total exports of goods and services and increased by 11.1% to USD 3,681.5 million, driven by an increased number of tourist arrivals that rose to 2,106,870 tourists from 1,781,214 tourists in the year ending November 2023.

Transport earnings increased to USD 2,718.7 million, up from USD 2,347.6 million owing to improved transportation infrastructure.

On a monthly basis, service receipts increased to USD 559.6 million in November 2024, up from USD 502.1 million in November 2023.

Imports

Imports of goods and services grew by 2.7% to USD 16,582.7 million in the year ending November 2024.

Imports of goods accounted for 85% of the total import bill, with industrial supplies and refined white petroleum products being the major imports.

The value of imports of refined white petroleum products declined by 7% to USD 2,578.5 million, owing to price effects.

Month-on-month, goods imports increased to USD 1,351.5 million in November 2024 from USD 1,257.6 million in November 2023.

Services payments increased to USD 2,407.3 million in the year ending November 2024 from USD 2,388.3 million in 2023. Most of the increase was observed in freight payments.

On a monthly basis, service payments amounted to USD 236.3 million in November 2024, up from USD 209.7 million in November 2023.

The primary income account recorded a deficit of USD 1,856.1 million, compared to USD 1,494.7 million in the same period the previous year, owing to increased foreign obligations.

On a month-on-month basis, the deficit rose by more than half to USD 207.3 million in November 2024, compared to the corresponding period in November 2023.

The surplus in the secondary income account declined by 12.3% to USD 540 million in the year ending November 2024, owing to a decrease in personal transfers.

On a monthly basis, the surplus amounted to USD 36.4 million in November 2024, compared with USD 31 million in November 2023.