Tanzania consolidates position as East Africa’s top exporter to Uganda

Bank of Uganda’s Monthly import data for 2025 shows Tanzania outperforming Kenya in every single month.

In October alone, Tanzania exported $313.25 million to Uganda, more than double Kenya’s $135.28 million, reinforcing Dar es Salaam’s status as Kampala’s principal trading partner.

The gap is even more striking when set against the rest of the region. In 2024, Uganda imported $1.87 billion from Tanzania, while Kenya supplied $882 million.

South Sudan accounted for just $37.57 million, the Democratic Republic of Congo $29.67 million, Rwanda $11.62 million, and Burundi a marginal $2 million. Tanzania, in effect, exported more to Uganda than all the other East African suppliers combined.

This was not always the case. In 2020, Kenya and Tanzania were almost tied, with Uganda importing $808 million from Kenya and $771.86 million from Tanzania.

By 2022, Tanzania’s exports had collapsed to $281 million amid pandemic disruptions and logistical bottlenecks, while Kenya still shipped $755.5 million. Two years later, Tanzania had staged one of the sharpest trade turnarounds in the region, lifting its exports to Uganda by more than $1.6 billion.

Rector of Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy (MNMA), Prof Haruni Mapesa, said Tanzania’s geographical advantage and logistics backbone are now directly shaping the country’s industrial and trade trajectory.

According to Prof Mapesa, Tanzania’s access to the Indian Ocean, combined with investments in ports, railways, and trunk roads, has created an ecosystem that is attracting manufacturing that was traditionally concentrated in China and parts of Europe.

 “With deep-sea ports, the Standard Gauge Railway, the Central Corridor, and expanding road networks, Tanzania has become a natural production base. Manufacturers are increasingly setting up plants here to serve not only East Africa, but the wider SADC market and the rest of the continent,” he said.

He added that education is emerging as a new export enabler, supplying the skilled workforce needed for industrial expansion and supporting Tanzania’s transformation into a regional production hub.

Tanzania’s energy investments have also paid off. With gas-powered electricity stabilising supply, manufacturers have been able to ramp up production just as Uganda’s construction and housing boom has lifted demand for building materials.

The broader regional picture shows how far Tanzania has pulled ahead. While South Sudan, DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi together supplied less than $80 million to Uganda in 2024, Tanzania alone delivered nearly $1.9 billion, more than 20 times their combined exports. Prof Mapesa, a senior economist, also pointed to Tanzania’s agricultural resilience as a critical factor sustaining its export momentum, particularly at a time when climate volatility is disrupting food supply across the region.

“Food and cash crop production in Tanzania remains relatively stable. Key commodities are still available in sufficient volumes and have not yet been severely affected by climate shocks, as current data shows.

This stability gives Tanzania a unique advantage as both a food supplier and an agro-processing base,” he said. He noted that the combination of geography, logistics, skills development, and agricultural capacity explains why Tanzania is not only increasing its exports to Uganda, but steadily positioning itself as a manufacturing and food supply hub for East Africa and the Southern African Development Community.