The latest Bank of Tanzania (BOT) Monthly Economic Review of April 2019 indicates that the value of goods and services exported in the year ending March 2019 increased to USD 8,544.5 million from USD 8,488.2 million in the corresponding period of 2018, owing to increase in non-traditional goods exports and services receipt.
Non-traditional goods exports, which accounts for 78.0% of goods exports and 40.7% of total exports, increased by 10.8% to USD 3,474.8 million, largely driven by gold exports.
Gold Exports
The value of gold exported—which accounts for almost half of non-traditional exports—grew by 9.8% to USD 1,684.6 million due to volume increase.
Services Exports
Foreign exchange receipt from services — which accounts for 47.8% of exports of goods and services—increased to USD 4,085.3 million in the year ending March 2019 from USD 3,823.6 million in the corresponding period of 2018, largely driven by travel and transport receipts.
Travel receipts grew by 13.2% to USD 2,526.9 million following increase in the number of tourist arrivals.
Similarly, receipts from transport-related activities grew by 2.9% to USD 1,225.6 million due to an increase in the volume of transit goods to-and-from neighboring countries, particularly Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi.