AfricaPress-Tanzania: CURRENT account deficit increased to 128.7 million US dollars in the year ending January from a deficit of 68.2 million US dollars in the corresponding period in 2020, largely attributed to rise in imports of goods, coupled with decrease in services receipt.
The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) monthly economic review for February shows that the exports of goods and services amounted to 181.0 million US dollars in the year ending January compared with 229.4 million US dollars in the year ending January last year on account of dismal performance of services receipt in particular tourism.
The earnings from cloves export declined by more than half to 6.5 million US dollars compared to 14.4 million US dollars earned in the year ending January last year.
On month-to-month basis, goods exports contracted to 0.5 million US dollars in January this year from 12.4 million US dollars in the previous month and 10.1 million US dollars in January last year largely due to decline in manufactured goods and other exports.
The value of imports of goods and services amounted to 432.3 million US dollars in the year ending January this year from 374.8 million US dollars in the corresponding period last year.
This development was associated with increase in imports of capital and consumer goods. Most of the imported capital goods is machinery, transport equipment, building and construction materials.
On month-to-month basis, imports amounted to 23.1 million US dollars in January this year compared to 26.5 million US dollars in January last year and 21.0 million US dollars in December last year.
The bulk of imports in January 2021 comprised oil and other consumer goods at 48.8 per cent compared to 20.9 per cent in the preceding month and 38.5 per cent in January 2020.