The latest Bank of Tanzania (BOT) Monthly Economic Review indicates that in August 2019 gold exports rose by +25.1% to USD 1,915.3 million, driven by volume, and accounted for more than half of non-traditional exports.
The value of non-traditional exports was USD 3,904.2 million in the year ending August 2019 compared with USD 3,257.5 million in the corresponding period in 2018, largely driven by minerals (particularly gold), and manufactured goods.
The increase in the export of manufacturing goods manifested mostly in manufactured coffee, yarn and twine, iron and steel, and fertilizers.
Services receipts amounted to USD 3,916.3 million in the year ending August 2019 compared with USD 3,887.4 million in the year ending August 2018 and accounted for 44.7 percent of total exports. Much of the increase emanated from travel receipts.
The value of traditional goods exports fell by 55.0% year-on-year to USD 508.8 million in the year ending August 2019.
The decline was general for all traditional goods exports, save for coffee.
The value of coffee exports rose on account of an increase in volume following good weather during the crop season, while that of cashew nuts declined due to fall in both volume and unit prices in the world market.
The value of cloves, tobacco and sisal export decreased on account of volume, while that of tea was driven by price in the world market.
Cloves did not perform well due to the cyclical nature of the crop.
For the year ending August 2019, the overall export of goods and services improved slightly to USD 8,770.6 million from USD 8,713.2 million in the year ending August 2018.