{{Earnings from gold have continued to drop, dealing Tanzania\u2019s external trade a major blow last year after the country recorded a slump in the value of the goods and services it exported.}}<\/p>\n
The latest Central Bank review of the economy shows that the trade deficit widened further last year after the value of exports of goods and services declined to $8,519.1 million from $8,675.6 million in 2012.<\/p>\n
The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) attributes the slump in export earnings to a drop in the value of goods exported in the year, with gold playing a major role.<\/p>\n
Only manufactured goods performed better in this category, raking in $1,072.1 million. Whereas foreign exchange from exports dwindled by about $156.5 million, the import bill went up by 7.3 per cent to $13,602.2 million in 2013, from the previous year\u2019s $12,678 million.<\/p>\n
The surge saw the trade balance–the difference between export and import proceeds–rise to $5,083 million from the 2012 deficit of $4,002.4 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe value of non-traditional exports declined by 9.2 per cent from the amount recorded in 2012 to $3,782.3 million in 2013, mainly on account of low export value of gold,\u201d BoT notes in the January monthly economic review.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe value of gold exports declined after a fall in both export volume and unit price. Despite the decline, gold continued to dominate non-traditional exports, followed by manufactured goods.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, gold exports fetched $1,732.9 million compared to $2,117.4 million and $2,224.1 million earned in 2012 and 2011 respectively. Much of the foreign exchange came from the travel trade, which brought in $1,888.4 million that made it the major source of export earnings during the year.<\/p>\n
The decline in gold export earnings is likely to affect the contribution of the sub-sector to the national economy, which has not been convincing so far. There is a belief in many quarters that the country benefits very little from the industry and these concerns have led to revision of the law regulating the sector.<\/p>\n
According to the Tanzania Chamber of Minerals and Energy, the industry now directly employs over 15,000 people, up from the 1,781 jobs it created in 1997 when large-scale mining took off. In 2012, the sector contributed 3.5 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP).<\/p>\n
Between 1997 and 2012, mining companies paid a total of $1.339 billion (Sh2.17 trillion) to the government in royalties, statutory taxes and other contributions.<\/p>\n
NMG<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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