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They mention that importers evade taxes and then lower the price of their products

By. Buha reporter

While Tanzania is committed to making it an industrial country, the market challenge for locally produced goods is still high compared to imported goods that are sold at lower prices than Tanzanian ones.

This has been revealed by various small-holder traders who participate in exhibitions of small industries under the coordination of SIDO held in Kasulu in the Kigoma region.

One of the traders from Manyara Mr. Gwandumi Mpoma who is the sales manager of Mati Super Brand has mentioned that Tanzanian factories produce more quality products compared to other countries especially food and beverage products along with agricultural implements but Tanzanians are not being given value compere to importers.

Mr. Mpoma noted that the cost of production in small industries in Tanzania is high compared to China and India which are competitors in the local market for these same products, although the products produced in Tanzania are equally good and probably better than those imported from abroad.

Mboma stressed that Tanzanian entrepreneurs are unable to compete with foreign industries due to the existence of tax evasion loopholes by importers who use secret methods and unrecognized stocks by the revenue authority which gives them a tax-free recovery, while industrialists in Tanzania are subject to high taxes.

For her part, Jonia Karumuna, an entrepreneur from Arusha who specializes in food processing, has made it clear that Tanzania, despite encouraging the growth of small domestic industries, business and marketing systems are still not competitive compared to neighboring countries due to high-interest rates form local Banks and that this kind of unfear financial systems causing commodity prices to rise to cover the credit gap.

As a result of this challenge, the Government has instructed its embassies around the world to begin the process of seeking industrial technology education opportunities for entrepreneurs, as well as finding markets for products produced by small industries in Tanzania to be sold in international markets.

The directive was issued by the Vice President of Tanzania Dr. Philip Mpango while launching the third industrial and trade fair held in Kasulu district in Kigoma region under the auspices of SIDO

Dr. Mpango noted that, despite the government’s emphasis on industrialization, productivity was still low, especially in the creative and marketing sectors especially products produced by small entrepreneurs in the country are still insufficient, leading the country to import various products that could be manufactured locally.

Despite these instructions, Dr. Mpango has issued a warning to the small-scale industrial organization SIDO for not showing productivity in making product innovations while saying even agricultural tools SIDO have failed to produce them.

In addition, the Vice President has instructed the Ministry of Energy to create a friendly environment for small entrepreneurs to access electricity and reduce operating costs, while instructing the Minister of Energy January Makamba, to properly manage TANESCO who have been reported to be ineffective due to power outages and causing small industrialists to lose their raw materials.

For his part, the Minister of Industry and Trade prof. Kitila Mkumbo acknowledged that there are still challenges in setting up small, medium, and large-scale industries, noting that his ministry continues to put in place sustainable plans that will support the growth of the industry.

Despite Kigoma Region being given the opportunity to exhibit, awareness of traders is limited to locals being a market for goods from other regions while the region has many investments including natural resources, abundant agricultural and forestry products, Lake Tanganyika, and central economic boundaries. of Tanzania, Burundi, and the DRC, an opportunity for international markets for cassava and maize crops

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