Currently, Africa is over-exposed to the impact of the US Dollar. Thus, African nations must either act individually or together to mitigate these effects. Dollar strength bursts are cyclical. Therefore, there should be enough time to implement efforts before the next one occurs. African governments have recognized the harm done in the previous year and should work round the clock to find a lasting solution.…

A currency crisis is defined as a quick and abrupt depreciation of a country’s currency. Currency depreciation goes in tandem with turbulent markets and a loss of confidence in the country’s economy. Historically, crises have arisen when market expectations induce significant movements in the value of currencies.

The global economy is now in turmoil. As the world economy enters another era of a currency crisis, the value of the US dollar keeps rising. Over half of all international trade is billed in dollars. A stronger dollar thus hurts consumers globally, particularly in Africa, who rely on dollars to pay for imports.

The US Federal Reserve’s hawkish approach to increasing interest rates more aggressively than central banks in other major countries has contributed to the dollar’s appreciation. The fact that investors generally see the dollar as a “safe haven” asset during times of economic turmoil has added to its resilience.…

Exports of goods from Kenya remained strong, growing by 11.1 percent in the first half of 2021 compared to a similar period in 2020.

This is according to fresh data by Central Bank of Kenya which indicates that receipts from exports of horticulture and manufactured goods rose by 29.4 percent and 45.2 percent, respectively, in the first half of 2021 compared to a similar period in 2020.

However, receipts from tea exports declined by 5.5 percent, partly due to the impact of accelerated purchases in 2020.

Travel and transport receipts continued to recover in 2021 with the resumption of international travel.

Remittances were robust at USD305.9 million in June 2021, and were 20.4 percent higher in the first half of 2021 compared to a similar period in 2020.

The value of Export of Goods and Services Increase By 9.8%

More findings

Separate data released earlier this month by Deloitte revealed …

Tanzania—East Africa’s host of the most strategic port (Dar es Salaam Port), anticipates garnering more cargo in the next four years, as the Tanzanian Port Authority (TPA) projects the volume of cargo to rise by almost 43 per cent, according to information from The Citizen.

The Dar es Salaam port handles about 95 per cent of the country international trade, serving other landlocked countries, Malawi, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, according to information from the TPA website.

In the maritime sector, Tanzania has a rather wider potential for expanding its reach in this pool. Tanzania’s coastline stretches of approximately 1425 km across East Africa portrays how the country could transform its economy and vitalize movement of good over the East African region.

The government of Tanzania has been on a mission to transform the sector physically and financially. For instance, in July 2017 President John Magufuli …

The central bank of Tanzania (BoT) published its January 2021 monthly economic review report, breaking down several performance aspects of various sectors including exports, imports, as well as the national debt.

Inflation

On this section of the economy, the central bank report showed the year-on-year headline inflation remained moderate at 3.2 per cent in December 2020, compared to 3 per cent in the earlier month.

The report argued that the changes occurred due to price-driven onto food and non-food items. On the overall basis, the inflation rate was within the regional benchmarks as well as below the country medium-term target of 5.0 per cent.

“On month-to-month headline inflation increased to 0.8 per cent in December 2020 compared to 0.3 per cent in the previous month and 0.6 per cent recorded in the corresponding period in 2019” the report noted.

However, the bank report highlighted that inflation is projected to remain …

Egypt’s Balance of Payment (BOP) declined by 8.6 per cent in June 2020 compared to the same month in 2019 according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

According to CAPMAS, Egypt saw a trade deficit of $3.30 billion the same period.

This was majorly caused by the fall of exports by 7.8 per cent to $2.26 billion down from $2.45 billion causing a decrease in the BOP to $3.3 billion instead of $3.61 billion. The downturn has been attributed to the decreased value of some commodities, including fresh fruits at 10.5 per cent, ready-to-wear clothing at 2.5 per cent, crude oil at 46.3 per cent and plastics in primary forms at 10.4 per cent.

At the same period, the value of other exports increased during June 2020, which include various pastries and food preparations increased by 28.0 per cent, dairy products by 29.3 per cent and …

The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) released its monthly economic report for the November edition, which encompasses the export and import sector performance, of which the report indicates a decent growth and a substantial fall in cashew nuts exports.

Export

Per the report, the value of goods and services exports grew by 10.3 per cent which is over $9.4 billion in the year ending October 2019, this is higher compared to the previous report which showed a 5.2 per cent rise.

The rise is attributed to the performance of the services receipts and non-traditional goods exports. The exports of the non-traditional goods amounted to over $4.1 billion from $3 billion in the corresponding period of 2018.

Just like in the performance of the year ending September 2019, the report argues that all major categories of non-traditional goods exports grew except re-exports and fish products,

Following that period, the value of gold …