The Bank of Tanzania (BOT) released its Monthly Economic Review-December 2023 which covers key macroeconomic indicators for the year ending November 2023.
External Sector Performance
In the year ending November 2023, the current account deficit remained large, though it has been narrowing gradually in recent months. It was USD 2,903 million compared with USD 5,160.6 million in the preceding year.
The outturn was largely on account of increased earnings from tourism activities and traditional exports.
Foreign Exchange Reserves
On foreign exchange reserves, the stock was USD 4,850.6 million compared with USD 4,541.1 million at the end of November 2022.
The reserves were adequate to cover 4 months of projected imports of goods and services and were in line with the country benchmark of 4 months.
Exports
The export of goods and services increased by 17.8% to USD 13,949 million in the year ending November 2023 from the level recorded in the preceding year.
The performance was largely contributed by receipts from tourism, and traditional and non-traditional exports.
Non-traditional Goods and Mineral Exports
Export of non-traditional goods grew by 5.8% to USD 6,389.0 million, with much of the increase driven by gold.
Exports of gold rose to USD 3,034.5 million, compared with USD 2,822.4 million, on account of both volume and price effects.
Improvement was also registered in exports of oil seeds and horticulture, particularly vegetables.
On a monthly basis, non-traditional exports rose to USD 511.1 million from USD 488.4 million.
Traditional Exports
Export of traditional goods edged up to USD 969.1 million from USD 760.9 million, largely driven by coffee and tobacco.
On a monthly basis, the export of traditional goods almost doubled to USD 185.3 million in November 2023 compared to USD 126.5 million recorded in a similar month in 2022.
Service and Tourism Receipts
Service receipts increased to USD 6,158.6 million in the year ending November 2023 from USD 4,641.8 million in the corresponding period in 2022, driven by travel (tourism) and transport receipts.
The surge in travel receipts reflects the rebound of the tourism sector as tourist arrivals rose by 27% to 1,797,347.
On a month-to-month basis, service receipts were USD 531.7 million in November 2023, compared with USD 414.1 million in the similar period in 2022.
