Tanzania’s Exports Surge 15 Percent to $17.09 Billion on Strong Gold and Agricultural Performance
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s exports of goods and services continued their upward momentum, growing by approximately 15 percent to $17.09 billion in the year ending September 2025, driven by robust earnings from gold, manufactured goods, and traditional agricultural products.
The growth is attributed to strong performance across multiple sectors, with gold, manufactured goods, and traditional agricultural exports—particularly cashew nuts and tobacco—recording significant gains, alongside increased service receipts from tourism and transport.
The expansion was largely driven by increased service receipts and stronger performance in the export of gold, manufactured goods, and traditional exports, particularly cashew nuts and tobacco.
Goods Exports Climb to $10.12 Billion
Goods exports climbed sharply to $10.12 billion, up from $8.23 billion in the year to September 2024, with performance largely driven by gold, manufactured goods, cashew nuts, cereals, and tobacco.
Gold exports surged by 35.8 percent to $4.43 billion, from $3.26 billion in the corresponding period, reflecting elevated global gold prices and steady production levels. Gold remained the country’s largest foreign exchange earner, accounting for approximately 44 percent of total goods exports.
Traditional exports also registered robust growth, expanding by 38.3 percent to $1.48 billion from $1.07 billion in the previous year. This improvement was mainly supported by strong performance in cashew nuts and tobacco, which benefited from higher international prices and increased export volumes.
Cashew nut exports almost doubled to $527.6 million, compared to $225.6 million previously, while the value of manufactured goods exports increased from $1.3 billion to $1.56 billion.
The value of cereal exports almost doubled to $340.6 million, compared with $194.2 million recorded in 2024. This performance was largely underpinned by strong demand from neighboring countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Manufactured goods continued to perform well, supported by industrial expansion and regional market integration. Tanzania’s non-traditional exports—comprising mainly gold, manufactured items, and horticultural products—collectively remained a key driver of the country’s external earnings.
On a monthly basis, exports of goods rose to $1.02 billion in September 2025, from $934.2 million in September 2024, largely propelled by gold and manufactured products.
Service Receipts Rise 4.6 Percent
Service receipts amounted to $6.97 billion during the year ending September 2025, compared to $6.67 billion in the corresponding period in 2024, reflecting a 4.6 percent increase. The growth was primarily attributed to higher earnings from travel and transport services, which together account for the largest share of service income.
Travel receipts continued to strengthen, reflecting sustained recovery in the tourism sector, with tourist arrivals increasing by 11.9 percent to 2,315,637 visitors. This improvement aligns with ongoing promotional campaigns and enhanced air connectivity.
Similarly, transport service earnings—mainly freight—rose to $2.54 billion, up from $2.28 billion in the previous year, supported by an increase in trade volumes across the East African region.
However, on a monthly basis, total service receipts declined slightly to $576 million in September 2025, compared with $584.7 million a year earlier, partly due to seasonal fluctuations.
Imports Rise to $17.73 Billion
On the import side, imports of goods and services rose to $17.73 billion in the year ending September 2025, from $16.76 billion recorded in the corresponding period a year earlier. The increase was largely attributed to higher imports of industrial supplies, machinery and mechanical appliances, parts and accessories, and transport equipment.
Nevertheless, oil imports, which accounted for 16.8 percent of total imports, fell to $2.47 billion, down from $2.75 billion in the previous period, mainly due to a decline in global oil prices.
On a month-to-month basis, imports of goods stood at $1.50 billion in September 2025, higher than $1.25 billion recorded in the same month of 2024.
At the same time, service payments rose to $3.09 billion, up from $2.60 billion in the preceding year, driven largely by higher freight charges associated with the increased import bill.
Current Account Deficit Narrows
Reflecting the strong export performance, the current account deficit narrowed to $2.23 billion in the year ending September 2025, down from $3.04 billion a year earlier.
Foreign exchange reserves remained robust at $6.66 billion, sufficient to cover more than five months of projected imports of goods and services—well above both the national and East African Community (EAC) benchmarks.
This resilience is attributed to steady export earnings, prudent macroeconomic management, and favorable commodity prices, especially gold.
