A Study on the Performance of Textile Sector in Tanzania-Challenges and ways Forward

Abstract

Tanzania’s textile sector has passed through various stages since independence to date, from a period where most of the textile industries were owned by the government to the period where private companies are the main owners. Thus the present paper assess the evolution and performance of textile sector before and after trade liberalization with focus on the current challenges facing the sector and the ways forward to boost the sector. The growth of any country economy depends on the country’s investment on industries and its ability to export finished goods to other countries, as the result of this the present paper has tried to assess the performance of textile sector in Tanzania and has used secondary sources to gather data relevant for the study, various literatures concerning the problem were used during the study so as to examine the development of the sector. The present paper pinpoints the current problems facing the sector, the research results shows that the development of the sector is not impressive as most of the stakeholders in the industry are now quitting the market due to various reasons such as trade policy which has allowed the influx of cheap second hand clothes and other imports. Furthermore the present paper suggests some measures to be used to boost the sector.