Local company calls for govt action on low quality imports

Dar es Salaam. Local iron sheets manufacturer ALAF Tanzania is seeking government protection against substandard imports, which have killed off its local market.

The company has also revealed that some of the importers of the same products have been under-declaring their imports, which has caused a glut in the market and killed off the competition.

These challenges have caused the company to reduce its production of iron sheets to avoid piling up of stocks as the market is mostly rushing for substandard iron sheets.

“We always consider standards in accordance with Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) and we do not want to deceive our customers by selling them poorly produced iron sheets,” the company’s General Manager Dipti Mohanty said yesterday.

He revealed that the parliamentary committee for Industry, Trade and Environment visited the factory to see production activities.

“We seek government interventions to make sure that substandard goods are not entering the country to distort fair competition,” he said.

Tanzania is the largest importer of iron sheets in the region, importing 60 per cent of the item, while Kenya imports only 15 per cent and Uganda 7 per cent.

“We lose jobs by importing raw materials for making iron sheets instead of protecting local manufacturers. The neighbouring countries have been protecting their local producers, and that is why the import size is low and they mostly depend on locally manufactured iron sheets,” he said.

The Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industries, Trade and Investment, Prof Joseph Buchweishaija, admitted the presence of substandard products in the market and promised to work on it.