Dar es Salaam prepares for busy exhibition year ahead

EXHIBITION: Tanzania will host over 20 trade shows in the coming year

Tanzania - The country is expected to host more than 20 major trade shows in a period of one year from this month to October, 2015.

According to Trade Fair website, the shows would range from travel, tourism, medical, pharmaceuticals, household services, agriculture, forestry, plant, machinery, equipment, packaging materials, household consumables and building construction.

Other trade shows would include business services, gems, jewelry, business services, education, training, electronics, electrical goods, accessories, transportation, automotive, power and renewable energy.

Most of the trade shows would be held in Dar es Salaam except the one that would be held in Arusha on Travel and Tourism.

One of the biggest trade show in Tanzania is the Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) which has established itself over years as the shop window for Tanzania products.

The DITF also is a shop window for the East, Central and the Southern African Region. It’s supported by the services of the Dar es Salaam harbour which serves the East African region and some of countries in the SADC.

The DITF acts as one stop centre for reaching countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

It enjoys the patronage of the Tanzania business community who both exhibit and use it as a forum for business exchange.

The fair also enjoys support of the government through the Ministry of Industry and Trade. 

Other supporters include the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (TCCIA) and the Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI).

According to Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TanTrade), in this year’s 38th trade fair that kicked off on June 27 to July, 8 the number of local firms increased to 1,700 compared to 1,500 last year.

International companies jumped to 490 from around 300 in the previous trade fair event.

TanTrade was established in 2009--it is mandated to implement the National Trade Policy, the National Export Development Strategy and the Trade Integration Strategy.

It’s also mandated to implement the Agricultural Marketing Policy and other sectoral policies all which aim at developing and promoting Tanzania’s internal and external trade.