Horticultural sub-sector in Tanzania has been characterized by sustained growth over the years. But there has been slow growth rate in horticultural exports over the last decade. In this regard, knowledge of the determinants of the industry’s development is very important. Little attempt was made to examine factors influencing the export performance of the sub-sector.
This study was proposed to examine factors that influenced the horticultural exports performance from 1988 – 2018. Secondary data were collected from the Bank of Tanzania, National Bureau of Statistics, and the World Bank. Co-integration technique was employed to examine the long-run relationships among the series. The coefficient values of the long-run relationship among the variables were estimated using Augmented Dickey-Fuller test.
The model results showed that the real exchange rate, agricultural Gross Domestic Products and foreign income had significantly influenced the horticultural export performance in the long-run. Real interest rate was revealed insignificant in the long-run. These significant variables have an important policy implication in improving the horticultural export performance in the country. The model results of the Error Correction Model were revealed as negative and significant, where it confirmed the existence of co-integration among the series. Its coefficient value was 1.0197, which showed 109.7% of the adjustment from short-run to long-run equilibrium per annum. Important policy implications of this study are included: flexibility in the exchange rate movements in line with the fundamentals of the economy; investment in research and agricultural extension as most smallholder farmers have less financial ability to pay for private research; and efficient policies for stabilization of the interest rates should be put in place (e.g., ceiling on lending rates, lowering inflation rate, etc.). These are considered important policy measures to improve the horticultural export performance of Tanzania.
Related Articles
Factors influencing Online Citizen Engagement at the Local Level in Tanzania
The adoption of e-participation adoption is found to be conditioned by the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) environment, government norms, ICT literacy and cost, and awareness among citizens and LLG leaders. The research implies that DOI power will increase when innovation testing is also included in the redesigning/ restructuring stage of the organisation’s innovation-decision process. […]
Democratisation in Tanzania: Re-examining citizens’ preferences for political party systems after 1992
The findings suggest an evolution of popular views on multipartism over time in contrast to reservations expressed to Justice Nyalali’s Commission in 1991. It is possible that, over time, many citizens have grown to prefer pluralism to a single party system because the speculated violence and societal division have not occurred. Also, they trust both […]
Motorcycle taxi riding and crimes in the urban settings of Dar es Salaam and Pwani Regions – Tanzania
The study reveals differences in crimes between regions. Findings further reveal that, while different initiatives are used to cope with crimes by both riders and their customers, sometimes motorcycle riders have brutally assaulted people they suspect to be criminals, even without any proof, which escalates the problem. As for customers in Dar es Salaam, the […]
Technology Shocks and Performance of Commercial Banks in Tanzania
The findings proved the need for banks to formulate relevant policies and strategies for their technology adoption programmes. The goal is to ensure they are concurrent with the goal of profit maximisation and the maximisation of shareholders’ wealth. The study also takes the liberty of calling out for banks to support those investments pertaining to […]