Tanzania: Zanzibar exports drop by 20% in March

ZANZIBAR’s exports have decreased by almost 22 per cent for the year ending March blaming unfavourable global markets. The isles exports dropped to 3.5bn/- in March from 4.49bn/- during the same period last year, the Office of the Chief Government Statistician (OCGS) said yesterday. OCGS Section Head, Trade and Tax Statistics, Asia Hassan Mussa, said South Africa, Denmark, China, Vietnam and Indonesia were the top five export markets in March, accounting for 75.7 per cent of the total value of export goods. South Africa and Denmark spent 1.05bn/- and 590m/- on purchases from Zanzibar, respectively, the statistics showed, indicating further that China, Vietnam and Indonesia spent 418.7m/-, 365m/- and 232.8m/-, respectively. The main exports, as per Standard International Trade Classification (SITC), were food and live animals; beverages and tobacco; crude materials, inedible and except fuels; chemical and related products; as well as machinery and transport equipment. Food and live ...