Targeted Support to REPOA and Zanzibar Ministry of Trade - Trade Policy Workshop
Posted on: May 24, 2018
The final workshop under the support programme was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on 5th March 2018. The programme was launched in May 2017 with the overall objective of contributing towards sustainable economic development and poverty reduction in the United Republic of Tanzania through closer regional integration and increased participation in the global economy. This result has been achieved through identification of the bottlenecks limiting competitiveness and export diversification in agriculture, and strengthening REPOA’s and subsequently Tanzania’s research and advisory capacity in the areas of trade policy, competitiveness and non-tariff barriers.
Assessment of the product quality environment in the Zanzibar-Pemba export corridor
Based on field work in Zanzibar and in close cooperation with the ZMTIM, the programme proposed a set of recommendations in the area of improving quality infrastructure to enhance agricultural export competitiveness. The role of quality infrastructure is critical in enhancing agricultural exports where food safety standards and traceability are of paramount importance to access markets such as the EU. This is the case not only for Zanzibar-based exporters, but also those operating in mainland Tanzania. The areas where further work is required include quality infrastructure, regulatory and the institutional frameworks. Obtaining relevant certifications is costly, and many producers cannot afford it.
Identification of the bottlenecks limiting agricultural export competitiveness
Field work in Zanzibar-Pemba and in the Northern export corridors resulted in a detailed analysis of the bottlenecks affecting agricultural competitiveness and export diversification, as well as a set of policy recommendations for addressing the bottlenecks. Using a value chain approach, a detailed review of the performance and competitiveness potential of eight major export-oriented agricultural subsectors was undertaken as follows: spices, cloves and seaweed in the Zanzibar-Pemba Export Corridor; non-traditional agricultural exports namely horticulture, floriculture and avocados in the Northern Export Corridor; and finally, traditional agricultural exports, namely coffee and sisal in Southern, Western and Central Corridors. A case study approach was adopted to provide fresh insights into underlying issues in order to achieve a greater understanding of the potential for enhancing agricultural competitiveness and diversification.
Development of trade analysis training materials
Trade competitiveness is key to the ability and performance of a firm, sub-sector or country to sell and supply goods and services in a given market in relation to the ability and performance of other firms, sub-sectors or countries in the same market. A set of training modules and analytical tools has been developed to increase the capacity of REPOA researchers to undertake trade research. It includes guidance on a range of tools and indicators that can be used to analyse trade performance in terms of growth, orientation, diversification, quality, and survival, as well as quantitative and qualitative approaches to analyse the market and supply-side factors that determine competitiveness. The toolkit facilitates the identification of the main constraints to improved trade competitiveness and the policy responses to overcome these constraints. It uses a Trade Competitiveness Diagnostics (TCD) toolkit that was developed by the World Bank.
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