ZANZIBAR EXPORTS FALL BY $30 MILLION

Zanzibar exports have decreased by $36.4 million.

According to a recent Bank of Tanzania monthly economic review, $175.6 million goods and services were exported during the year ending September 2017 from $212 million during the year that ended September 30, 2016.

The review also shows that the decline in export values of cloves and seaweeds – which are major export commodities from Zanzibar – largely contributed to the fall in export earnings.

According to the review, the earnings of cloves exported fell by 56.6 per cent on account of decreases in volume and prices.

The volume of exported cloves dropped to 2,709 tonnes from 6,192 tonnes during the same period.

Clove prices in the world market fell to $7,969.2 per tonne from $8,036.4.

Zanzibar’s clove industry has been crippled by a fast-moving global market and international competition.Zanzibar ranks a distant third with Indonesia supplying 75 per cent of the world’s cloves compared to the Isles’ 7 per cent.

Seaweed export volumes also fell 43.5 per cent in the year ending September 30, 2017.

Zanzibar began seaweed commercial farming in 1989.

The Isles have been exporting the crop to the United States, Denmark, Sweden, the UK and China.

The seaweed ends up getting used in toothpaste, as the food additive carrageenan, in shampoos, cosmetics, medicine and other pharmaceutical products. Zanzibar exports spices and fine raffia.

Export earnings from manufactured goods decreased to $4.9 million from $9.1 million.

However, the share of export earnings from manufactured goods vis-à-vis total export earnings rose by 17.1 per cent from 12.8 per cent.

Earnings from fish and fish products increased to $39,398.1 – up from the $27,907.2, partly on better fishing gear.

Tourism is a major foreign currency earner in the archipelago.