Posted on February, 26, 2019 at 08:19 am
By Mnaku Mbani
Dar es Salaam. Southern highlands zone recorded the highest growth of cross-border trade during the year ending September 2018, compared with the year ended September 2017, the Consolidated Zonal Economic Performance Report by the Bank of Tanzania has said.
The report shows that this trend followed exports from the zone recording a growth of 10.5 per cent to Sh434 billion during the third quarter of last year from Sh393 billion recorded during a similar quarter of 2017.
The zonal trade balance gained by 14 per cent on an annual basis to Sh353 billion in September 2018 from Sh308 billion recorded in September 2017.
The report shows that cross border trade balance decreased in all zones by 22.1 per cent to a surplus of Sh1.6 trillion from a surplus of Sh2.1 trillion recorded in the corresponding period in 2017.
The decrease in trade surplus was largely associated by the decrease in value of exports and an increase in imports of capital and intermediate goods mainly for infrastructure development.
In the lake zone, exports fell by 42.8 per cent to Sh726 billion during the third quarter of last year from Sh1.2 trillion recorded during a similar quarter of 2017, while imports increased by seven per cent to Sh143 billion in Quarter 3 of 2018 from Sh134 billion recorded during the third quarter of 2017.
The northern zone exports improved by 3.8 per cent to Sh892 billion from Sh856 billion respectively, while trade balance increased by 5.2 per cent to Sh753 billion during the third quarter of last year from Sh716 billion during a similar quarter of 2017.
The report shows that the south eastern zone did not have annual numbers but on a quarterly basis exports increased by 60 per cent to Sh4 billion from Sh2.5 billion recorded during the second quarter of 2017.
Imports for the south eastern zone went down by half to Sh13 billion in September from Sh28 billion recorded during the second quarter ending June.
The zonal overall trade balance recorded a shrink of 62.5 per cent to a deficit of Sh9.6 billion in the third quarter from a deficit Sh25 billion recorded during the second quarter.
Source: The Citizen