Africa-Press – Tanzania. The value of selected manufactured commodities stood at 2.63tri/-, which is 17 per cent higher than 2.25tri/-recorded in a similar quarter last year on account of the expansion of market outreach, especially in the neighbouring countries.
According to the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Consolidated Zonal Economic Performance Report for the quarter ending March this year, “All zones recorded an increase in value except for the Southern Highlands zone.
This good performance was mostly underpinned by the expansion of market outreach especially in neighbouring countries,” stated the report.
The observed decline in the Southern Highlands zone was partly explained by a fall in production of cement, and forest-related products such as papercraft, wattle extract and plywood.
The value of selected manufactured commodities from the Southern Highlands declined to 170.6bn/- which represent a negative 2.0 per cent compared to 174bn/- in the corresponding quarter last year.
In terms of contribution, the Dar es Salaam zone accounted for 57.6 per cent of the total value of selected manufactured goods, followed by the Northern zone at 13.6 per cent.
The value of selected manufactured commodities for the Dar es Salaam zone was 1.52tri/- which is an 8.5 per cent increase compared to 1.29tri/- registered in the corresponding period last year.
For the Northern zone, the value of selected commodities increased to 359.2bn/- in the quarter under review, which is equivalent to a 22.8 per cent increase compared to 292.6bn/- recorded in the corresponding quarter last year.
The value of selected commodities for the Lake zone rose to 154.7bn/- which is equivalent to a 16.9 per cent increase compared to 132.4bn/- in the same period in the previous year.
For the Central zone, the value of selected commodities increased to 101.7bn/- which is a 5.4 per cent increase compared to 96.5bn/- in the same period last year.
The value of selected manufactured commodities for the Southern Highland is 331.8bn/-, which is a 25.0 per cent increase compared to 265.6bn/- registered in the corresponding period last year.
