Tanzania export sector has been growing over the years. The market share of Tanzania increased by 0.29% to 0.08% in EAC and SSA from Period I to Period II respectively. This performance of exports may have been attributed by increased/decreased competitiveness or increased/decreased structural factors such as world trade, focal markets of their products and composition of the exported commodities.
The study focused on competitiveness of Tanzania’s exports, with attention to products of Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) 1 digit level. The study employed Constant Market Share Analysis (CMS) techniques to decompose the growth in Tanzania’s exports of these products to find out whether it’s because of changes in competitiveness or structural factors.
Findings of the study show that, the world trade, commodity composition and competitiveness effects were positively associated with increased export growth in Tanzania from Period I to Period II. Export growth for SITC 1 digit level in Tanzania was attributed by increased demand for such products in the world market, and the commodities exported had a faster growing demand. Furthermore, there was increased competitiveness for Tanzania’s products directed into the selected group of reference countries.