The public has been encouraged to produce more farm and industrial products for export in order to minimise international trade deficit and stimulate the country’s economic growth.
The call was made by senior officers from the ‘Zanzibar Office of the Chief Government Statistician (OCGS)’ at the monthly external merchandise trade statistics media briefing.
The OCGS-Zanzibar Communication Officer, Mr Bakari Khamis Kondo said that low goods production has been one of the main reasons for the continued trade deficit internationally.
“We need to work hard to increase exports. We should be committed,” he said.
Mr Kondo said Zanzibar recorded a decline in foreign export in December 2020, compared to a corresponding month of December 2019.
The leading exports in December 2020 were food items and live animals. He said that food sent abroad includes rice, which is unfit for human consumption worth more than 375m/- .
Mr Kondo informed journalists that the leading foreign exports for Zanzibar are cloves, seaweed, spices, and Zanzibar curios. Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) is used in the monthly trade balance.
Leading importers of goods from Zanzibar include USA, India, China, Kenya, and Vietnam, while imports such as foods, fabrics, and second hand items to Zanzibar are mainly from the United Arabs Emirates (UAE), followed by China, Russia, Pakistan and Turkey.
