Investment, Trading and Money Management

Industries in Tanzania

The main export volume of Tanzania are coffee, cotton, tea, cashew nuts and cloves.

Coffee

  • In 2009, the value of coffee exports increased to USD 111.7 million from USD 97.5 million in 2008, equivalent to an increase of 14.6 percent.
  • This was attributed to increase in the volume of coffee exported. The volume of coffee exports was 56,100 tons compared to 44,200 tons in 2008, equivalent to an increase of 26.9 percent.

Cotton

  • In 2009, the value of cotton exports was USD111.2 million compared to 115.5 million in 2008, equivalent to a decrease of 3.3 percent.
  • The volume of cotton exports increased from 91,400 tons in 2008 to 100,400 tons in 2009, equivalent to an increase of 9.8 percent.

Tea

  • In 2009, the value of tea exports was USD 34.5 million compared to USD 40.8 million in 2008, equivalent to a decrease of 15.4 percent.
  • This was due to decline in the production of tea and volume of tea exports.
  • The volume of tea exports decreased from 25,900 tons in 2008 to 19,200 tons in 2009, equivalent to a decrease of 25.9 percent.

Cashewnuts

  • In 2009, the value of cashewnuts exports was USD 71.5 million compared to USD 40.2 million in 2008, equivalent to an increase of 78.0 percent.
  • This was due to increase in volume of cashewnuts exports from 55,000 tons in 2008 to 99,300 tons in 2009.

Cloves

  • In 2009, the value of cloves exports increased by 9.1 percent. During the period under review, exports were USD 14.7 million compared to USD 13.5 million in 2008.

Trade

Import Products

Major import commodities include agricultural machinery, implement and pesticides, industrial raw materials, machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, construction materials, consumer goods. The list is not exhaustive

Export products

The principal export commodities include Minerals (gold, gemstones, diamonds, coal e.t.c.), coffee, cotton, cashew nuts, tea, sisal, tobacco, pyrethrum and cloves. The main imports are machinery and transport equipments, textiles and clothing, petroleum products.

Trading Partners

Tanzania’s major trading partners include: China, Germany, Japan, India, the European Union, United Arabic Emirates, United Kingdom, Kenya, Japan, India and South Africa.

Tanzania is endowed with many natural resources and investment opportunities. The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania has simplified investment regulations in order to attract investors from around the world. Investment in Tanzania is overseen by the Tanzania Investments Centre (TIC), a one-stop primary Government agency responsible for all investment matters.

The TIC is charged with the following functions:

  • Promoting investment activities in Tanzania;
  • Addressing administrative constraints facing local and foreign investors;
  • Assisting in the establishment and registration of enterprise processes;
  • Facilitating investors in obtaining necessary licenses, work permits, visas, approvals, facilities or services;
  • Assisting investors to secure investment sites and the establishment of Export Processing Zone (EPZ) projects especially in the Agricultural, Mining, Infrastructure, Fisheries and Tourism sectors;
  • Granting Certificates of Incentives, investment guarantees and registering technology agreement for all investments which are over and above US$ 300,000 and US$100,000 for foreign and local investments, respectively;
  • Providing and disseminating up to date information on existing investment opportunities, benefits and incentives available to investors: and
  • Facilitating investors to have smooth working relationships with Public and Private Sector bodies such as Tanzania Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA), Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI), Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC), Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF)