AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE overall balance of payments recorded a surplus of 988.7 million US dollars in the year ending April compared to a deficit of 759.6 million US dollars in the corresponding period in 2019.
According to the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) monthly economic review, the performance was largely driven by improvement in current account, to a deficit of 777.9 million US dollars from 1,893.1 million US dollars owing to increase exports of goods.
“The external sector of the economy continued to perform relatively satisfactorily, despite challenges induced by Covid-19 pandemic on hospitality services and passenger travels,” stated the report.
On monthly basis, the current account balance was a deficit of 40.5 million US dollars in April compared to a deficit of 291.0 million US dollars in the corresponding month in 2019.
The value of exports of goods and services increased to 9,982.8 million US dollars in the year ending April from 8,618.4 million US dollars in the corresponding period in April 2019, largely owing to increase in goods exports.
On monthly basis, exports also increased to 634.3 million US dollars in April from 605.7 million US dollars in April 2019, driven by goods exports.
Exports of goods increased by 30.3 percent to 5,897.0 million US dollars in the year ending April driven by both traditional and notraditional exports.
Traditional exports almost doubled to 1,032.4 million US dollars from 553.7 million US dollars in the corresponding period in 2019, driven by cashew nuts, cotton, cloves and sisal exports.
Cashew nuts and sisal exports rose on account of increase in volume and price, while exports of cotton and cloves rose due to volume effect.
Conversely, exports of coffee, tea and tobacco declined. On month-to-month basis, traditional goods exports amounted to 33.3 million US dollars in April compared with 17.1 million US dollars in April 2019.
The increase manifested in coffee, cotton, tobacco and sisal exports. Exports of nontraditional goods amounted to 4,328.5 million US dollars in the year ending April compared with 3,561.1 million US dollars in the corresponding period in 2019.
Exports of gold increased by 44.5 percent to 2,436.5 million US dollars, and accounted for 56.3 percent of exports of nontraditional goods.
The increase was on account of volume and price in the world market.
During the period under review, exports of gold were 225.6 million US dollars compared with 113.1 million US dollars in April 2019, attributable to increase in prices in the world market.
Exports of other minerals amounted to 89.9 million US dollars compared with 2.2 million US dollars owing to resumption of export of mineral concentrates.
