Industrial Development in Tanzania

Abstract Tanzania’s industrial sector has evolved through various stages since independence in 1961, from nascent and undiversified to state-led import substitution industrialization, and subsequently to deindustrialization under structural adjustment programmes and policy reforms. The current development agenda, however, has brought industrial development back to be one of the policy priorities. This chapter aims at examining the performance of the manufacturing sector, with particular interest in identifying the emerging manufacturing sub-sectors, the drivers of their success, and challenges for sustained competitiveness. The growth in manufacturing notwithstanding, it remains largely undiversified, and vulnerable to variations in agricultural production and commodity prices. The most dynamic sub-sectors in terms of output growth, export growth, production innovation, and product diversity are food products, plastic and rubber, chemicals, basic metal work, and non-metallic mineral products.