Investment Opportunities Available in Natural Resources in Tanzania

In terms of sector classification, Natural Resources in Tanzania refer to forestry & beekeeping, wildlife, and fisheries. The country has vast untapped natural resources that provide a base for investment in factories, industries, and training. The terrestrial area is the grassland savannah rich in wildlife, with equatorial rainforests, miombo woodlands, and plateau with amazing natural scenery and beauty. The area houses archaeological sites such as the Olduvai Gorge, Kondoa Rock Arts, and other historical sites. The coastal strip and water support a combination of natural systems including coral reefs, estuarine, sea grass beds, and extensive mangrove stands. 

Similar to other sectors, private investments are highly encouraged in the natural resources sector, of which the government plays the role as a policy maker, promoter, and regulator. This sector presents enormous investment opportunities, some of which are outlined hereafter.

Fisheries Investment Opportunities in Tanzania

Tanzania is one of the largest fishing nations in Africa, according to FAO; it is ranked in the top 10 countries in terms of total capture fisheries production.

The annual fish production is about 341,065 tons. In addition, the sector contributed about 1.4 percent to the GDP (National Statistics Bureau; 2010) and 10 percent of the national foreign exchange earnings. The sector employs more than 177,527 full-time fishermen and about other 4 million people earn their livelihoods from the fisheries sector (Fisheries Statistics, 2011). For the years 2005 – 2010, fish and fishery products exports from Tanzania earned the country US$ 195.2 million per annum.
Tanzania has a total surface area of 945,037 sq. km. The area of freshwater cover is estimated at 54,337 sq. km., which is about 6.1 percent of the total country’s surface area. The country has a Territorial Sea of 64,000 sq. km., an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covering an area of about 223,000 sq. km. and a stretch of a coastline of about 1,424 km long all in the Indian Ocean, and other inland water bodies (major and minor lakes, rivers, dams, ponds, and wetlands), covering about 5,000 sq. km.The country shares three major inland lakes: Lake Victoria (shared with Kenya and Uganda), Lake Tanganyika (shared with Burundi, DRC, and Zambia) and Lake Nyasa (shared with Malawi and Mozambique).

Investment Opportunities:

The main investment opportunities existing in the fisheries industry are in the following areas:
Fishing, fish processing, value addition in fish and other fisheries products; cold chain, boat building, construction of a fish harbor, construction of dry docking facility, eco-tourism, manufacturing of fishing gear and accessories. Other areas include; prawn/ shrimp farming, mud-crab farming, pearl culture, finfish culture, seaweed farming, hatchery for fingerlings production, fishing and culture of ornamental fish, fish feeds production and live food production.

Fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Fishing in the EEZ targets mainly tuna and tuna-like species which include; Yellow fin, Big Eye, Albacore and Skip Jack. Other species include; Marlin, Sharks, and Swordfish. Although the fish potential for this area has not yet been estimated, the existing catch on the fishery and willingness from longliners and purse seiners buying licenses from Tanzanian jurisdiction indicates a potential for investment in this fishery. Fishing in the EEZ is under the jurisdiction of the Deep Sea Fishing Authority (DSFA). Tanzania is within the western Indian Ocean zone which has high productivity and there is a strong seasonal migration of tuna with peaks between July and November.

Value Addition in Fish and other Fishery Products

As at December 2014, there were 9 fish processing plants operating around Lake Victoria on the Tanzanian side of the lake. Lake Victoria Tanzania employed about103,540 fishers.Three major commercial species Nile perch, Dagaa, and Tilapia. The total catch for the Nile perch about 10,623 mt, Dagaa 31,524.6 mt and Tilapia 825 mt. in March 2014. The Nile perch dominate both in terms of landed value, export, and government tax revenues. These plants fillet Nile perch mainly for the export market. Through this process, good amount of fish by-products such as fish maws, skins, off cuts, chips, frames, chests, and silage are realized. Most of these byproducts are semi processed through salting, sun drying, and dry smoking. Investment opportunity exists in the purchase of semi processed fish products from fish processing plants and further process them to produce various value added marketable products such as fish meal and cakes for domestic and export markets.
Most of the fish packaging materials are imported from outside the country as such investment opportunities exist in the manufacturing of fish packaging materials.

Other avenues for investment include marketing and distribution of value added fishery products, the establishment of fish canning facilities and improvement of fish processing technology.

Construction of Fishing Harbour

Currently, fishing in the EEZ is dominated by foreign fleets (in 2014 35 foreign fleets were given license) which fish and take the product without off-loading or undergoing production and export certification in the country. Construction of a fishing harbor will, therefore, provide for the EEZ fishing vessels to anchor onshore which will enable the government and the would-be investors to obtain data/information on the catch and appropriate revenues from the fishing vessels in the EEZ.

Construction of Dry Docking Facility

The dry docking facility will serve the fishing vessels as well as merchant ships. Currently, there is no such a facility in Tanzania and as a result, dry docking for most of the fishing and merchant ships operating in the Tanzanian waters are done in Mombasa, Kenya. The need for such a facility in the country, therefore, offers a great opportunity for investment.

In summary, there are ample potential investment and trade opportunities in the fisheries industry in Tanzania. The Government has taken initiatives in facilitating investment undertakings in various sectors of the economy. Conducive investment policies and regulatory frameworks are in place. The investment policy encourages private investors to proactively get engaged individually, through joint ventures and through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).