TANTRADE hails Mwanza Region for contributing 14.7tri/- to the national GDP

MWANZA: MWANZA region has contributed 14.7tri/-, equivalent to 7.2 percent of the national GDP, while the six regions of the Lakes region collectively contributed 54.4tri/-, equivalent to 23 percent of the national GDP last year.

The Director General of the Tanzania Trade Promotion Authority (TanTrade), Mr Ephraim Mafuru, said the figures show the Lakes region’s significant role in growing the Tanzanian economy, so traders and producers should take advantage of the existing opportunities to increase production and expand markets.

Mr Mafuru said this in Mwanza while discussing the importance of the 21st East African Trade Fair being held at the Furahisha grounds and featuring more than 250 exhibitors.

He said the trade fair has opened up opportunities for traders from the Lake Zone and other parts of the country to enter the East African Community market with a population of 507 m/-.

According to Mr Mafuru, the trade fair has become an important platform to connect producers, traders and distributors with buyers from within and outside Tanzania.

“At TanTrade, our work is not limited to the Sabasaba Fair in Dar es Salaam. We work both within and outside the country and here at Furahisha we meet many customers from the entire East African Community,” he said.

He said TanTrade is collaborating with the private sector in promoting trade, citing the Mwanza Regional Chamber of Commerce (TCCIA) as among the stakeholders that enabled producers to participate in the fair.

Mafuru has urged manufacturers to use the ‘Made in Tanzania’ logo as an identification of locally produced products, while emphasizing the importance of ensuring that products meet the required standards so that they can compete in regional and international markets.

He said Tanzanians should use existing opportunities to increase production and value of products instead of relying on imported products.

“Let’s not talk about opportunities alone. We have big lakes, we have land, we have rivers; what have you done? Work, increase your income individually and the Nation,” he said.

Mr Mafuru said that despite the Lake Zone having a large role in gold production and other economic activities, there are still areas that use imported products to a large extent.

He gave the example of Katoro where, according to the statistics he provided, 90 percent of the products used, excluding food, are imported.

He said that this situation should be a challenge for local manufacturers to increase the production of quality products that can compete in international markets.

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In addition, He has called on government institutions to change their perspective from being only managers and regulators to becoming business facilitators so that the private sector can grow and increase its contribution to the economy.

For his part, the overall winner of the exhibition, Customer Service Manager of Proofings from Uganda, Mr Kigozi Henry, has commended the partnership between TanTrade and TCCIA, saying it has enabled traders from outside Tanzania to get the opportunity to showcase their products and enter the Tanzanian market.

An entrepreneur who participated in the exhibition, Ms Mercy Ntabago, has urged farmers and producers of natural products to use the opportunities provided by TanTrade to gain education, markets and reach foreign buyers.

He said TanTrade has been helping entrepreneurs improve their products and introduce them to foreign markets through the use of the **‘Made in Tanzania’** logo.

“Come to TanTrade, they give us education, good markets and they take us abroad,” he said.

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