Tanzania Business Commercial Information Tourism Investment

Agriculture employs around 80 per cent of the working population. Cash crops are the country's main export earners, although depressed prices have kept Tanzanian revenues at a static level despite increases in production. There is an expanding mineral sector: diamonds are mined commercially, as are other gemstones and gold. Coal, phosphates, gypsum, tin and other ores are also extracted. Reserves of uranium, nickel, silver and natural gas have been located. The government granted oil and gas exploration in the mid-1990s, and some small projects are under way, such as natural gas from the Rufiji delta. The industrial sector is small and concentrated in agricultural processing and light consumer goods: sugar processing, brewing, textiles and the manufacture of cigarettes are the most important.
The government had pinned much of its hopes on development of its service industries, especially transport and tourism. Tanzania's relatively poor road network is the subject of a major programme of maintenance and construction, mainly financed by the EU. Tourism, which according to 2002 figures was worth about US$1 billion to the Tanzanian economy, has suffered a serious downturn as a result of international terrorism.
The government had privatised several key industries, including the national airline and the main chain of hotels, in anticipation of a growing tourist market (Tanzania received 500,000 visitors in 2002). Both, along with a number of flagship industries, were bought by South African interests which are establishing a strong presence in Tanzania. Liberalisation of trade and the financial sector were also implemented as part of an IMF-supported structural adjustment programme.
On the whole, the economy has performed fairly well since the mid-1990s, but Tanzania remains one of the world's poorest countries. GDP growth in 2004 was 6.7 per cent. Tanzania is a recipient of foreign aid from both bilateral and multilateral donors, and some efforts have been made to tackle its large foreign debt. In 2000 the country benefited to the tune of US$2 billion from the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative. In July 2003, Tanzania's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility arrangement with the International Monetary Fund was extended for three years. Total external debt is now US$7.5 billion. The country remains heavily dependent on foreign aid. Tanzania is a member of the African Development Bank, the Southern African Development Community and the East African Community (EAC). After a failed attempt in 1977, an East African Customs Union was established with Kenya and Uganda in 2005.

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